Road to Nowhere
by KholdstareV
Summary: It started with one fatal accident. Now, the Mario Kart Double Dash team must untangle themselves from a web of deception and ill will before all racers meet their end. Their one salvation may be the one they fear the most - a mysterious Vice President...
1. Prologue

**Road to Nowhere**

**By KholdstareV**

_Camera...  
Speed...  
Lights...  
And... Action!_

_-Duh Duh Duh DUH! Duh DUH Duh!-_

_"Good evening, and welcome to Mushroom City 4 O'clock News at 9. I'm your anchor Boo T, and this is my attractive co-anchor, Tee T. Tee T, what's our top story for tonight?"  
"Well Boo T, we have an excellent story for all of you at home! The Mario Kart: Double Dash racing team has just won an award for being the safest professional kart racing team in the kingdom!"  
"Is that so? Well, that's saying a lot, because they are the ONLY professional kart racing team in the kingdom! Hehe, I'm witty... Now then, we have reporter Virginia T at the scene right now. Virginia?"_

_"Thank you, Boo! I am here at the Double Dash headquarters where all the business takes place that keeps the Double Dash league running as smoothly as it does! Oh my! Here comes Toad! TOAD!! It's me, Virginia T, from the Mushroom City News Team! Please, COME OVER HERE!!"  
"Ugh... Goddammit... Look, I'm a busy guy, and I hate talking to the press. Can I just go to work now?"  
"Now that you've said that, no!"  
"Urgh... Alright, fine. What do you want?"  
"So Toad, Mario has been the President of every other Mario Kart class so far, but how is it that YOU managed to snag the position of President of the Double Dash Division?"  
"Well, uh... It's a long story. When Mario had us all in for a press conference on what the big innovation of the next Mario Kart title should be, I came up with the idea that maybe we could have two riders in one kart. Mario liked the idea, so he made me President."  
"Fascinating! So what exactly do you do as President?"  
"I do, umm... all the things that a President would be expected to do 0o."  
"I see. And, if you don't mind me asking, is there a Vice President as well?"  
"Ehh, there IS, but... no one really knows who he is. Real mysterious guy. Even I haven't seen his face. All we know is he goes by the name Mr V..."  
"Hm, how interesting! Any chance we can score a conversation with this Mr V, Toad? Um, Toad? Toad?! Oh, he's gone already... Damn. Well, I guess we can just cut that conversation out of the final take..."_

"_Umm, Virginia..."  
"What, Boo?"  
"We're LIVE."  
"Huh? Oh, crap! Oh, I-I mean, uhh... Oh, goodness me! I guess we better find someone else to talk to then. Hmm... Oh, yes! There's Mario! The man we've been looking for! Hey Mario! MARIOOO!!"_

"_Huh? Oh, hey! It's that woman from the news! What's up?  
"What's up, Mario, is that you are ON the news!"  
"Oh really? For what?"  
"Why, for winning that safety award, of course. And you, being the Chief Safety Inspector of the Double Dash team, I'd say that's mostly YOUR responsibility, yes?  
"Hehe, yup. I guess so."  
"Now, I hear that since Double Dash's launch, this has been your third completely accident-free year, am I not correct?"  
"Umm, we're comin' up on three years. Yeah."  
"Wonderful! How does it feel to know that this great honor is all your doing?"  
"Well, it's not all MY doing. I mean, Toad's a great President. Wario's a hard-working member of the Safety Committee just like myself. Waluigi's been doing good as the Items Commissioner. King Boo knows his special effects. Koopa and Paratroopa are excellent automechanics... Ya know, I think it's cuz of all of us working together that we managed to win this award!"_

"_...You're boring."  
"Bite me."  
"Umm... OK! So long Mario! I'm a big fan! Aaaand... he's gone. Well, I'm tired of this place. Back to you, Boo!"_

"Thank you, Virginia T! My Tee T, what a great honor for the Mario Kart team, eh?"  
"Sure is, Boo T! Let's hope they can continue that fantastic run of theirs!"  
"Let's hope so, Tee T. Let's hope so..."

* * *

"**CALL 911! CALL 911!!**"

A standard race on Wario Colosseum was in an uproar. None of the racers knew what the trouble was until they drove up to the site themselves.  
"Mario, what's happening?"  
"I don't know, Peach. I think it happened just up there, after that last jump before the finish line."  
"OK, I'll get us there pronto!"

Peach drove the Red Fire along the stretch, over the jump, and slammed on the brakes upon landing. They examined the scene before them.  
"Oh my God..." Mario said under his breath.  
"What... What on earth happened here, Mario?""I don't know, Peach. I don't know..."

Mario, Peach, and all the other racers stopped at that very spot to observe the scene around them. They could only stare as the Colosseum became filled with the lights and sirens of approaching ambulances...


	2. Day 1

**Day 1**

**_7 Days Remain..._**

**_--_**

Toad stood over Yoshi's hospital bed with sad eyes, his head hung low. Yoshi, who'd once been such a happy, free spirit, was now trapped in a prison of wires and tubes. Although the doctor had said he was alive, it was hard to perceive just by looking. He just looked so...

A white-garbed Ratooey walked in a second later, holding a clipboard. Toad immediately approached and stopped him. "Doctor..."  
The doctor could tell from Toad's eyes what his question was. "Please, Toad. I already told you he's alive."  
"But for how much longer? What's his condition?"  
"Please, sir. Calm yourself. He'll be perfectly OK, but not until after a pretty long recovery."  
"Well, what's his condition?"  
"I was just about to get to that," the doctor said, checking his clipboard. "When the car crashed, Yoshi was thrown from the back of the vehicle and his body collided with the rail. He flipped over the rail and fell nearly thirty feet onto another section of track below. He's suffered from five broken ribs, a fracture in his skull, and his left foot was nearly twisted all the way around."  
"I can tell that by looking, thanks."  
"Um, yes, of course. In any case, we're doing all we can for him to make his recovery as fast and painless as possible. It'll still take several weeks, however."  
"Any brain damage?"  
"He's a dinosaur, sir. His brain's probably only the size of a walnut. If there's any brain damage, we don't know about it."  
"Oh, what the HELL did you just say?!" Toad asked, balling his hands into fists.  
"I can tell your upset, sir. However, your main concern should be the other victim of the accident..."  
Toad's body suddenly felt numb. He looked at the doctor with a worried expression. "...Diddy Kong?"

"Yes..." the doctor said, examining the paper on his clipboard. "He suffered from many injuries, but there's one in particular that we're very concerned about. You see, he was driving the vehicle, and when the car crashed, it flipped over and-"  
"I don't wanna hear the details of the crash, Doctor!" Toad demanded. "Just tell me his condition! Will he be OK?"  
The doctor sighed heavily. "He's suffering from a fatal amount of internal bleeding in his head. I'm gonna be honest with you, Toad... We don't know if he's gonna make it."

Toad's already remorseful face drooped even more. Diddy Kong... dead? He couldn't imagine it. How would Donkey Kong react...?  
Well, Diddy wasn't dead yet. All Toad could do was pray that everything would be OK. He would only give the news of the accident victims when the news was final. All that would matter was if they would both live. And it was confirmed that Yoshi would. Diddy Kong, however...

Before becoming too lost in sad thoughts, Toad shook his head and sighed. "Thank you Doctor."  
"We're doing all we can," the doctor replied. "We'll let you know the news about Diddy Kong as soon as we can."  
"Give me a call at the office when you do, OK?"  
"Will do. Take it easy Toad."  
"You too, Doc..."

* * *

Toad had been sitting at his desk for a long time. The fact that he was sitting in the President's office had always made him feel kinda special, but not today. He was supposed to be making the preparations for the Mushroom Bridge race that was meant to take place the very next day, but he just could not bring himself to. All he found himself doing was sitting in his chair, and glancing at the red telephone on his desk, just waiting to hear the news.  
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.  
"Come on in, Mario!" Toad called out.

The door opened and in walked Mario. He took a seat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. "Good evening Mr President. You called for me?"  
Toad sighed. "Mario, we've been over this. Call me Toad."  
"Oh, of course Mr President... Toad... sir, ma'am. I mean, ma'am."  
"JUST...be quiet..." Toad had to calm himself down. "Yes, I called for you."  
Mario nodded. "So, was there something you wanted me to do for you?"  
"Well, obviously," Toad remarked, sitting back in his chair. "I assume the accident that happened last night is still fresh in your mind?"  
"You'd be right, sir."  
"Toad."  
"...You'd be right, Toad."  
"Good. And according to my knowledge, YOU are the Chief Safety Inspector of the Double Dash division of the Mario Kart Team, am I not correct?"  
"Yes."

"Oh, so I'm not correct!"  
"No, I mean you ARE correct!"  
"But you said 'YES'."  
"Well fine then, no."  
"Oh, so now you're saying NO, huh?"  
"Well, if YES isn't right, then I just figured, umm... What was I saying?"  
Toad felt like he was ready to rip his spores out. "Are you the Chief Safety Inspector or not?!"  
Mario looked down at his lap. "Yes, I am."  
"Then can you please explain to me why one of our vehicles crashed, and the two racers suffered terrible injuries?"  
Mario then appeared struck with nervousness. "...Injuries? How bad?"  
"Yoshi broke some ribs, fractured his skull, and twisted his goddamn foot! Diddy Kong... I'm not sure about him, but I know he's bleeding like a mother fucker in his head, and that he might not even make it!"

All the tension in the room suddenly converted into pure grief, which didn't make the room any happier a place to be in. Toad had to take a few breaths and blink back a few tears. He then looked up at Mario again. "Mario, please explain to me the guidelines you follow as a Safety Inspector. What exactly is it that you do that has kept Double Dash completely accident-free for nearly 3 years?"  
Mario had to think about that for a second. There were so many things he'd done to keep the racetrack safe. "Well... For one thing, the karts we have built are done so specifically to have 6-star safety ratings. They can handle high-speed collisions from the front, back, or sides. Rollover risk is nigh zero, and the tires are equipped with shock absorbers to, umm... absorb shock. Tires are changed before every race, and... yeah. Basically, we're talking about perfect vehicles."

"And what about items and stuff?" Toad asked. "And other things, like Thwomps and boulders. Explain the safety procedures concerned with those."  
"Well," Mario continued, "Banana Peels aren't hazardous in the least, so I can skip those. Green and Red Shells are designed to strike all of our karts with just the right amount of force so that the kart does a perfect somersault, taking the target's mass and current velocity in mind, thereby causing the kart to land precisely on its wheels again. So long as the rear player ducks his head down during the attack as he's been trained, both racers shall emerge unscathed, losing only a few seconds in the race. Blue Shells and Bob-omb explosions are really just concentrated blasts of air that, again, are designed to burst with just the right amount of force so that the kart does a single backflip before landing on its wheels perfectly again. The explosions themselves, as well as things like lightning bolts and Thwomps and boulders, are just special effects designed by King Boo, the Special Effects Guy."

"Yes, I know King Boo is the Special Effects Guy," Toad said. "Now what about the rear driver. He's clearly in a dangerous spot. What keeps him safe?"  
"C'mon Toad," Mario said. "You've been a rear driver before. You know what keeps you safe."  
"Just tell me," Toad demanded.  
Mario sighed, and continued. "Every racer in the league undergoes 2 weeks of nothing but training on how to be backseat passenger. They're taught how to move with the kart as to not fall off while handling their items at the same time. Plus, every racer has a clear tether tied around the wrist of their indominate hand, lest they ever lose their grip on the handlebars. Plus, every racers equipped with kneepads in case they ever fall from the back and are dragged behind the kart. Even the guys with no clothes on, who's kneepads are the same color as their skin in order to make them blend in."  
"Why would you wanna do that?"  
"I dunno. Just makes the races seem a little more thrilling, ya know?"

Toad shook his head and sighed again. "Alright, that's enough. Now tell me - Do you swear to me you did your job before that race?"  
"Yes sir. I inspected every kart and everything. Everyone else was doing their jobs as well..."  
"Did you inspect the busted vehicle after it crashed?"  
"Yes."  
"Do you know what caused the crash?!"  
"Yes sir..."  
"What was it?!"  
"A tire broke loose..."

Toad slammed his hands on his desk. "A tire broke loose??"  
"Yes," Mario said shamefully. "The front left tire of the Turbo Yoshi... just broke off."  
"And what the hell could've made THAT happen??"  
"Looked to be loosened bolts..."  
"And what about the tether that was supposed to be tied around Yoshi's wrist?! Last I heard, he went FLYING out of the car when it crashed!!"  
"It appeared to be cut, sir. Any strong tug could've broken it. Diddy's tether was cut, too..."

Toad sat back in his chair and stared coldly at Mario. "Well Mr Safety Inspector, sounds like you didn't do your job so well."  
Mario shook his head. "Please Toad, it was only my responsibility to check on Koopa and Paratroopa to see if they were working on prepping the karts for the race. Last I saw, they were tinkering with one of the Turbo Yoshis."  
"Oh," Toad said suspiciously. "So you think Koopa and Paratroopa did something wrong, now do you?"  
Mario scratched his chin. "I could never imagine them making mistakes like that, but... I dunno."  
"Well Mario," Toad said, standing up, "I'm making it your job TO know! I want you to ask them if they were doing their job and what the hell went wrong out there!"  
"Yes sir..."  
"TOAD!!"  
"Yes, Toad..."  
Toad was just about to show Mario out the door when the red telephone on Toad's desk began to ring. The sound of the ringing phone pierced Toad's heart and his tiny chest swelled with anxiety and fear...

Toad stared at the telephone for a few seconds, as though he didn't know what the hell kind of noise it was making. It suddenly rang again, causing him come to immediately.  
"Umm... better answer that, Toad," Mario acknowledged.  
"Yeah..." Toad said. He swallowed heavily and reached for the phone with a shaking hand. He was about to lift it off the hook when he looked at Mario again. "Mario, we're done here. You can go now."  
Without any objections, Mario quickly nodded and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Once Mario was gone, Toad steadily picked up the phone and put it to his ear.

"H-hello?" he said weakly.  
_"Toad, it's me."_  
"Oh, D-doctor? What's-"  
_"I'm afraid there's nothing left we can do, Toad."  
_Toad felt his heart well up in his chest. "Diddy. He's...?"  
_"He'll be in a better place, soon."_  
Toad nodded, then realized the doctor couldn't see him nodding. "Um, yes. Thank you, Doctor..."  
_"I'm sorry, Toad."  
_Toad didn't bother to hear or say anymore. He hung up.

Struggling to force down the wave of grief that was sweeping over him, Toad staggered back to his chair and plopped down. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, but no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't able to fight back the two or three tears that managed to squeeze out of his tightly shut eyes.  
He opened one eye carefully and looked at the documents on his desk. Forms that would need to be completed in order to prepare for the Mushroom Bridge Race that would happen the next day.  
No way. No way in hell they were doing a race the next day. Not after what had happened...

_BR-R-R-RING!!  
_  
The sudden ring of the phone almost made Toad jump out of his skin. He was really losing it here. He quickly reached over for the receiver and picked it up. "Hello?" he asked, barely above a whisper.  
"_Good afternoon, Toad._"

When Toad heard the voice on the other line, his heart seemed to stop. "Mr V?"  
"_You'd be correct, Mr President,_" replied the deep, cold voice from within the speaker. "_Just calling to ask about the little tragedy that happened last night..._"  
"Shut up, Mr V. You know what happened."  
"_Heh... Yes, of course. I know everything that happened..._"

The sound of his voice just made Toad cringe with nervousness. He spoke in such a dark tone that it made one's blood run ice cold.  
"_You know,_" Mr V continued, "_I really do feel bad for Yoshi and Diddy Kong..._"  
"I bet you do," Toad replied roughly. "Diddy Kong... He's..."  
"_He's died?_" Mr V inquired without hesitation. The word 'died' made Toad's heart heavy with sorrow. "_Well... that's a shame..._"  
"Yeah, like you can talk," Toad grumbled. "You don't even know anyone on the team, and you're the frickin' Vice President, for God's sake!"

Mr V gave an exasperated sigh. "_Toad, you knew this was going to happen eventually. But to whom it would happen was never known. We just never know on who's door cruel fate will come knocking on next, do we...?_"  
"You still haven't told me why you called," Toad said, who was starting to feel very scared.  
"_Think on the bright side, Toad..._"  
"WHAT bright side?! How can there be a bright side to this?!"  
"_Please Toad. This accident... This accident may be a tragedy to everyone else, but its publicity for you. Isn't that what you've always wanted, Toad? Publicity...?_"

Toad hesitantly glanced at the computer screen next to him.  
Following the accident, Double Dash's ratings had gone up. Tremendously.  
Toad quickly turned his head away and gripped his forehead with his hand. "You still haven't told me why you called!"  
"_Seven days, Toad..._" came Mr V's ominous reply.  
"Seven days? WTF?! You pullin' some kinda Ring bullshit on me?" Toad asked angrily.  
"_The Ring? No, that movie was dumb. I mean, don't you forget what's coming up in seven days..._"

Toad glanced at a large poster tacked up on the bulletin board...

--

**RAINBOW WORLD CUP!  
2 of the Best Racing Teams in the World  
Will Compete for the Greatest Honor  
Achievable in Racing - The Rainbow World Cup!  
Sign Your Racing Team Up Today!**

**--**

Toad nodded after reading the poster. "Yeah, The Rainbow World Cup. What about it?"  
"_It's in one week, Toad, and we're one of the final 2 teams going for the gold..._"  
"I'm aware of that, Mr V. Now for what reason have you called me?!"  
"_If we're gonna enter that race, Toad, we'd better begin preparing now..._"  
"I've already begun preparing!" Toad assured him. "Now please, tell me why you called me!!"  
"_Don't you have a Mushroom Bridge race to schedule for tomorrow...?_"  
Toad had totally lost it now. "GOOD-BYE, MR V!!"  
And with that, Toad slammed the receiver down. He slammed it so hard that for a second he thought he'd broken the phone in two.

Toad sat back in his chair again, but he still didn't feel very comfortable. Man, that Mr V was a weird guy. All he seemed to care about was that Rainbow World Cup... It was all he'd really talked about for the past few months. How the hell he'd even gotten the position of Vice President was beyond Toad... as far as he knew, no one had ever even seen the guy's face.  
And sure, the Rainbow World Cup WAS a big deal. It was the most coveted trophy in the world - the cup every racing team hoped to get their hands on at least once in their lifetime. It truly was an honor that the Double Dash team even had a chance at achieving it. In just seven days, they would be just one race away from winning that cup... It really was hard to believe. Toad could almost envision sitting on his mantelpiece, sparkling in all its radiant beauty. He'd been dreaming of that day since the very first time he entered the kart-racing world...

But that didn't seem important at the moment.  
No, not important at all...

Diddy Kong... He was just an innocent little monkey. He didn't deserve to die. And DK certainly didn't deserve this either. No one knew the news yet, but they would eventually. Toad wondered how he could possibly get the word out to his team that the team was now tragically two members short... and one of them permanently...


	3. Day 2

**Day 2**

**_6 Days Remain..._**

**_--_**

The next morning, Mario walked into the Double Dash Garage, or the DDG as it was called. Upon entering, he saw the team's army of Repair Guys working on the several karts available for racing in the Grand Prix. Mario had come in looking for Koopa and Paratroopa, just like Toad had asked him to do the previous night. He didn't see them, so he asked one of the Repair Guys next to him who was replacing the spark plugs of one of the Toad Karts.  
"Excuse me," Mario asked. "Do you know where Koopa and Paratroopa are?"  
The Repair Guy looked at him, and even through his white mask, you could tell he looked confused. "Cómo?" he replied.  
"Umm... Sabes dónde están Koopa y Paratroopa?"  
"Oh, sí," the Repair Guy replied. "Están... allá." He pointed to a door on the far end of the garage.  
"Gracias," Mario said graciously. He headed for the door.

Upon opening the door, Mario looked into the large room and saw Koopa and Paratroopa working on building another Barrel Train, since demand for it was so high. When Mario walked in, they looked up at him. Koopa made some barking sounds.  
"Um, yeah. Hey fellas," Mario said casually. "Um, listen... You guys remember the accident that happened two nights ago, right? The one with Yoshi and Diddy Kong in the Turbo Yoshi?"  
Paratroopa nodded and made some barking noises of his own.  
"Right. Well, I remember you two were working on the Turbo Yoshi before the race. And I remember examining the car after the accident happened, and I found out it had crashed because a tire had broken off, and that Yoshi flew out because his tether wasn't secure..."  
Koopa and Paratroopa looked at one another. They both appeared confused. Koopa barked a question.  
"Well," Mario recalled, "It looked like the bolts around the tire had been loosened, and the tether had been cut. You know, cut just a little bit so that it could snap if pulled hard enough..."

Koopa and Paratroopa looked at one another again. They spoke amongst themselves for a few seconds, then Paratroopa turned to Mario and responded in a few barks.  
"So... You claim the Turbo Yoshi you were working on prior to the race wasn't the one that Yoshi and Diddy were riding in?"  
Koopa nodded.  
"Oh, OK then. But... Then who WAS working on that Turbo Yoshi before the race, then?"  
Paratroopa shrugged, but responded in a very nervous-sounding series of barks.  
"Yeah..." Mario said. "It definitely does seem that way... But who on earth would do something like that?"  
Koopa and Paratroopa looked at one another again and shrugged. It was clear they were both very scared and upset, though.

Just then, the main garage door opened. There was Toad. His head was hug low and his body was quivering uncontrollably. He looked up and saw Mario, Koopa and Paratroopa through the door.  
"Mario... Koopa and Paratroopa... I have an announcement to make. An announcement for the entire team. Please come outside..." With that, he walked out.  
Mario, Koopa and Paratroopa could tell by Toad's behavior that he had some very bad news. Reluctantly, they all walked out of the room and out of the garage into the sunlight.

Upon leaving the garage, the trio could see the entire Double Dash team crowded nearby. Everyone except for Yoshi and Diddy Kong, of course. Birdo and DK were both conspicuously solo, and they both had looks on their faces that said they knew this news was about their partners. How worried they must've been...  
Mario, Koopa and Paratroopa joined the crowd. Mario pushed his way through a bit and went up to Peach. "Hey Peach," Mario asked. "What's happening?"  
Peach appeared very shaken up. "Mario, I think... I think this is about Yoshi and Diddy Kong. Oh. I hope they're OK..."

"Me too, Peach. Me too..." Mario said, trying to comfort her by holding her hand.  
Toad then appeared seemingly out of nowhere and stepped in front of the crowd. He raised his hands, ordering for silence. All conversation stopped immediately.

Toad had to inhale and exhale deeply before he could begin talking. He was clearly fighting to keep his emotions down. "Everyone..." he announced in a weak voice. "I assume you all remember the... terrible accident that happened two nights ago."  
Everyone responded in different variations of 'yes'.  
"Well," Toad forced himself to continue, "I'm afraid I have some... bad news concerning the two victims of that accident..."  
It was noticed that Birdo and DK looked at one another and shifted nervously when he said this.

"I will start by explaining Yoshi's condition. Yoshi suffered from some broken ribs, a fracture in the head, and a twisted foot. But thankfully... he's alive, and the Doctor says he'll recover."  
The crowd went up in a quiet chorus of relieved voices. Birdo appeared especially relieved. She cupped her hands together and closed her eyes, as though giving thanks. After a few seconds, Toad rose his hands again, urging for silence.

"As for Diddy Kong..." Toad murmured.  
The team waited for him to continue, but he didn't even raise his head. It was as though he couldn't bare to utter the next words. And as much as Toad prayed he didn't have to say anymore, his morose behavior was beginning to make the crowd worry evermore. Many of them had already guessed what the announcement was. DK, however, hadn't. He was growing impatient with Toad, and was ready to smash his cap in if he didn't give him the news regarding his nephew.  
Toad finally looked up, his eyes pouty and red. He looked straight at DK. "Donkey Kong..." he almost whispered. "Please... come over here into the garage with me. I think it'd be best if I tell this only to you..."

Upon hearing this, the entire crowd immediately knew what the news was. Peach was already in tears, and many of the rest felt them coming.  
DK, however, was still oblivious. He eagerly ran up to Toad, and the two walked into the garage together. The crowd didn't move from its spot, but they could see through one of the windows. Toad stopped to clear all the Repair Guys from the room, then allowed DK in. DK stood across from Toad and waited to hear the news. Although the crowd couldn't hear what Toad was saying, they could see his lips moving.

They saw him utter a short sentence...  
And then they saw DK's face suddenly swell with sorrow and rage.  
He howled loud enough for everyone outside to hear, and then grab a nearby Heart Coach, lifted it off the ground, and threw it with all his might across the garage. He went on a loud and torturesome rampage, smashing karts, throwing them across the room, breaking them into pieces... All the while howling and screaming while Toad made a futile effort to calm him down. And, as loud as the tantrum may have been, it came out only muffled and silent to the remorseful crowd outside...

* * *

"So, I guess the Mushroom Bridge race today is off then?" Luigi said.

Some time had passed since the announcements, and after DK had calmed down a bit (though he was still filled with grief), the entire team had met up in the Resting Quarters to settle down and relieve some stress.  
"Well no kidding, Luigi!" Daisy remarked, nudging him. "I'm surprised Toad is still willing to have us all race for that Rainbow World Cup this week. After what happened..."  
"Hey, The Rainbow World Cup is important," Wario assured. "I'm sure Yoshi must feel pretty crappy - he's gonna miss that race, and he's alive to know it, too!"  
"Shut up, Wario!" Mario nearly screamed. "You never make anything better, even if you try!"  
"Hey, I'm a Safety Inspector too!" Wario argued.  
"Yeah, big waste of your life, tubby! No one would trust their life in your hands!"  
"Hey, you need to shut up!" Wario grumbled, approaching Mario menacingly.  
"Make me!" Mario snarled while standing up to confront him.  
"Mario! Wario! Please, stop! You're scaring the babies!" Peach pleaded, cradling Baby Mario in her hands, trying to calm him down. Daisy was doing the same with Baby Luigi.

The door suddenly burst open, and in walked Toad. Everyone immediately sat down as he entered.  
"OK, listen up everyone!" Toad called out. He held up some papers in his hand. "I'm just gonna read off some changes I've made to, umm... some stuff!"  
Toad cleared his throat and looked at his papers. "First of all, DK and Birdo are now a team, and will be a team come the Rainbow World Cup. They shall remain a duo until Yoshi completely heals, in which case DK will get a new partner. Is that clear, you two?"  
Birdo nodded and walked over to DK's side, who nodded slowly.  
"Very good," Toad continued. "Secondly, we obviously aren't going to do our scheduled race on Mushroom Bridge today like we were meant to. That will instead be postponed until tomorrow. Today, I say we take a day off to reflect upon what we've lost... and to appreciate what he have..."  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
"Right," Toad said, "Now, I'm... I'm not sure what you guys are going to want to do. Especially you, DK... I was thinking maybe we could hold a little ceremony or something for Diddy Kong. Otherwise, we don't have to anything special. Just relax today... Maybe have a few drinks. I dunno. Whatever you guys wanna do..."

Toad waited for a reply from someone. Anyone. It didn't matter. He would go with whoever spoke first. The waiting was just about to drive him insane.  
"Well, any ideas?" he tried to ask as calmly as possible.  
DK raised his head and looked up at Toad. "We say good-bye to Diddy..."  
Most everyone in the room either nodded or commented in agreement.  
Bowser just snorted. "Pssh! What's the point of making Diddy's death such a solemn occasion? It's not like it'd mean anything to him - he's dead! May as well use our day off for a little partyin' or something. Ain't that right, Jr?"  
"Hellz yeah, papa!" Bowser Jr exclaimed, giving his dad a high-five.

"Bowser, when you and your son die, the whole _world_ will be partying!" Mario cracked.  
"I'm rubber, you're glue! Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you!" Bowser Jr yelled triumphantly.  
"Oh, PWN'D!!" Bowser laughed, giving his son another high-five.  
"Ugh..." Daisy whispered to Peach. "I'd think those two were cute together if they weren't so repulsive and dumb."

"Bowser, if I hear one more remark out of your goddamn mouth, I will rip out your spine and beat you with it!! You understand me?!" Toad shouted.  
Bowser grumbled and sulked back down. Bowser Jr chuckled.  
"Same goes for you, Jr!" Toad snapped. "It's kids like you that make God regret inventing heredity!"  
"Yo!" Bowser roared. "Nobody talks to MY son that way!!"  
"Well... that was actually more of an insult to you than your son, but whatever. It seems as though the majority of us wish to hold a small ceremony for Diddy Kong?"  
Everyone replied yes. Bowser and Bowser Jr did too, even though they didn't really care.  
"Alright then," Toad said, putting away his papers. "Meet me outside Mario Circuit in about 2 hours. A service will be held there in Diddy's honor. See all of you then..."  
With that, Toad quickly bowed his head down and walked out of the Resting Quarters, leaving everyone else to do little else but wait for the ceremony...

* * *

"Friends of the Mario Kart: Double Dash Team... We've gathered here today to say good-bye to one of our youngest and latest team members, Diddy Kong. May his journey to a better life be a safe one."

The two hours proceeding the funeral had seemed like an eternity, and yet now here they all were. Toad had arranged for the body to be taken out of the hospital and placed in a closed casket, which was currently on display near Peach's Castle by Mario Circuit. It was to be lowered into the hole and buried once everyone gave their final words. The only one who was unable to go was Yoshi, for he was still in his hospital bed. He'd now miraculously regained consciousness, however, and was told the sad news.

Toad was standing near the casket now, giving a short speech in commemoration of the poor little monkey. He felt bad, because he and Diddy had never really even known each other, so he didn't have much to say.  
"Now then," he said aloud, "I suppose my words aren't of the utmost significance. Therefore... Donkey Kong, is there anything you'd like to say?"

DK looked up at Toad, then closed his eyes and nodded. He walked slowly on all fours up towards the casket, then put his hand on it. For a second, everyone was half-expecting him to go on another rampage and tear the casket apart, but he didn't. He merely looked into the crowd and bit his lip.

"Diddy Kong DK's favorite nephew. He like the son DK never had. It make me sad that he gone now... It also make me scared that same thing could happen to me. He die driving car... We drive car everyday. What race be our last? I no know. Maybe I want die so I be with Diddy again, but he no want that. He want me to live. He want us to live. We live for him, and he happy. I know he happy..."  
DK couldn't speak anymore. He gently placed his humongous hand on the casket once more and made his way back to the crowd. It was so odd for them all to see the normally rough and tough DK so sorrowful. Seemed the strongest muscle in his body was his heart after all...

"Thank you, DK," Toad said graciously. "Does anyone else have anything they'd like to say before the burial?"  
Mario forced his way through the crowd of team members up to the front. "I have something I'd like to say," he said.  
Toad nodded and motioned for the casket. Mario walked up, turned to the rest of the team, cleared his throat and began.  
"Everybody, I have some disturbing news... You all may have seen this disaster as a terrible accident, but I have evidence that says that this tragedy wasn't an accident at all..."  
A slur of silent and confused conversation broke up among the team. Wario and Waluigi looked at one another, perplexed. King Boo and Petey felt themselves about to utter some sort of protest.

Toad seemed to know what was coming, and he didn't want Mario to finish. "Alright Mario, that's enough. The service is over. Go back to the Resting Quarters right away, all of you."  
"But I wasn't finished yet, Toad!" Mario protested.  
"You've said enough Mario. Now all of you, go! We've got a race to prepare for tomorrow, and a Rainbow World Cup coming up in just 6 days! We can't spend all night here! Move it! Move it!!"  
"What about Diddy?" DK asked sorrowfully.  
"He'll be buried just fine!" Toad assured him. "Now hurry up! All of you! Resting Quarters. RIGHT NOW!!"

Within a few minutes, Toad had cleared the field of the rest of the team, and was standing along with Diddy's casket. It was suspended over the hole, ready to be lowered in.  
Just as DK had done, Toad placed a gentle hand on the casket's lid. He felt his heart grow heavy.  
"I'm sorry..." he whispered.

And with that, he released the chains, thereby causing Diddy Kong's casket to slowly sink into his grave. After several seconds, he heard the sound of the heavy box hitting the dirt. Toad then removed the chains, grabbed a nearby shovel, and began to scoop the dirt back into the hole, over the casket. All the while, he could hardly keep the tears from escaping the corners of his eyes...

* * *

The sun had set and stars had begun to poke their light through the night sky. Toadette was walking a few paces behind the rest of the team, her hands in her pockets and her head low. She allowed her braids to hang down in front of her face. No one really seemed to notice that she was falling behind, but it was only natural. Her outing in Double Dash was the first real social thing she'd done with the Mario gang. Being younger than her brother Toad, she'd always seen him racing in the Mario Kart Grand Prix in the past, and when he welcomed her into the world of Double Dash, she was ecstatic. Her time spent with the Double Dash team had been her happiest yet, and she owed it all to him.

Toadette stopped walking altogether, and allowed the rest of the team to carry on without here. She looked back at the field several yards behind her and saw Toad lowering Diddy Kong's casket into the hole. He looked so morbidly depressed that it almost made her want to cry. She really did look up to Toad, but she sometimes wished he didn't take his work so seriously. A great and fun guy most of the time, but a real stickler when it came to business. Having the title of President of the Double Dash Division didn't help much. This accident had really taken a toll on him...  
But perhaps it wasn't the business portion of it that made him so depressed. Perhaps it was the fact that he'd just lost one of his friends...

Toadette didn't really know. Again, she was still a little new to the whole Mario world.  
Looking back at the team as they disappeared over the horizon, Toadette decided to turn around and talk to Toad. Maybe he just needed someone to talk to...

Toadette could see Toad shovelling dirt into the hole as she walked up to him. His back was turned to her, and he didn't even seem to notice when she was right behind him. Thinking maybe she could lighten the mood up a bit, she stood toward his right side and tapped his left shoulder.  
Toad yelped and dropped the shovel, then looked over his left shoulder. When he saw no one there, he looked like he was about to panic. However, he caught a glimpse of Toadette out of the corner of his eye. He quickly turned around and faced her. His face was twisted with annoyance and confusion.  
"Toadette!" he complained, "You scared the crap outta me!"  
Toadette couldn't help but giggle to herself. "That's OK. You wear a diaper!"  
"Ugh... Toadette, we've gone over this. These are specialized pants designed for Toads to support our nonexistent legs along with our abnormally huge hips and asses. You're a Toad! You know that!"  
"Well, yeah! But I don't wear a white one like you!"  
Toad rolled his eyes. "You're so annoying."  
Toadette just laughed."What are little sisters for?"

Toad went back to shovelling. "Well, I guess in YOUR case, they're to serve as a partner for me in Double Dash, cuz I ain't got no one else!"  
Toad said that a lot, and whether he really meant it or not, it always kind of hurt her feelings. It was partially true, though. "Yeah. Cuz ya know, I'm completely worthless otherwise."  
Toad stopped shovelling and looked at her. All the nervousness seemed to have left him now, and he smiled. "Aw, c'mon. Don't say that. Your career with the Mario team is just getting started. You'll be considered a full-fledged member of the team in no time."  
"Aw, thanks Toad!" she exclaimed, hugging him from behind. She wasn't as young as she looked, but she still always felt kind of little around her big brother.

Toad stopped shovelling again as his sister hugged him. It made him remember why he'd even suggested the idea of two riders in one kart in the first place. He'd wanted Toadette to share the fun he and his friends had always had in the Mario Kart team. It was because of that idea that he'd even managed to become president of the Double Dash Division. It was hard to tell whether he owed her more or if she owed him more, but one thing was for sure - they both did owe each other a lot.

Toadette loosened her hug and backed away a bit. Toad turned to look at her, and saw her face wasn't as bright and happy as usual. "Toad...?" she asked. "Have you been feeling OK lately?"  
Toad looked down at the shovel in his hands, then back up at her. "Umm... Yeah. I've been fine. Why?"  
"You just seem... I dunno... Ever since that accident happened, you've been acting all nervous and stuff..."  
The anxiety that she was speaking about was beginning to return to Toad's face. However, it quickly subsided, and Toad gave her a reassuring, if somewhat sad, smile.  
"Naw... You don't have to worry about anything, Toadette. It's just... It's really hard knowing one of my best friends is in the hospital, and another friend's nephew is dead... Plus, this whole thing means a lot of work for me, ya know? Not that the work is the real problem, but... You know what I mean."

Toadette kinda cocked her head to the side. "So... You're just sad then?"  
"Yeah..." Toad assured her. "Just a little sad. That's all..."  
"But Toad," she said, "Everyone else is sad too, but they don't seem all nervous and fidgety like you. Are you sure that's all?"  
Toad just stared at her with a blank expression for several seconds, as though reading her.  
He finally turned around and resumed shovelling dirt over Diddy's grave.

"Toad?" asked Toadette, somewhat worried.  
Toad didn't answer. He merely went on shovelling.  
"Toad??" Toadette asked a little more forcefully.  
Still no reply.  
"Toad?? What's wrong?" Toadette pleaded. Seeing Toad this upset frustrated and scared her.  
Toad stopped shovelling for a second. "Go back to the Resting Quarters with the rest of the team," he said quietly. "I'll see you there when I'm done."  
With a sad face, Toadette silently obeyed. She turned around and began to head to the Resting Quarters. As she walked, she didn't turn back.  
She wondered if maybe he would turn back either...

* * *

Toadette made her way back to the Resting Quarters, where everyone had already settled in. She looked over and saw Daisy cradling Baby Luigi to sleep. Luigi was sitting nearby and watching.  
"He looks just like his daddy..." Daisy said quietly.  
"Yeah... Better warn the neighborhood!" Luigi joked.  
Daisy laughed and shoved him playfully. He wasn't really sure why, since he'd really just made fun of himself.  
Indeed, not many people knew, but Baby Luigi was actually Daisy and Luigi's son. Yup, the two were married and had raised a child. Not too big a surprise, yeah? They'd even named him Luigi after his dad. By the same token, Baby Mario was Mario and Peach's son. Incidentally, Baby Mario was a year older than Baby Luigi - the same age difference between Mario and Luigi. It was strange how fate worked out that way. Stranger still was the fact that Mario and Luigi allowed their sons to race in the Double Dash Grand Prix without supervision. Even stranger was the fact that Peach and Daisy allowed it. Ah well, best not to question one's parenting, eh?

Toadette walked over to where Mario was sitting. He had his head propped lazily up against the wall. Toadette sat down on the bed beside him. When Mario saw her, he smiled and sat up. "Hey Toadette. How ya doin'?"  
"Ehhh... I could be better, to tell you the truth."  
"Heh, yeah..." Mario said, looking around. "I think all of us could be better. I haven't seen everyone this depressed since the time Bowser stole the Star Rod and Kirby sued us."  
"Yeah... That accident was really bad, wasn't it?"  
"Sure was. I'm still totally surprised that it actually happened. It's gonna take a while before I can accept the fact that Diddy's dead..."

"Hey, Mario?" Toadette asked.  
"Yeah?" Mario replied.  
"My brother doesn't seem to be feeling very good lately. Have you noticed? He's been acting kinda funny."  
"Hell, who hasn't noticed?" Mario asked. "The guy's going insane over this. Being the President, I would imagine it's a lot of work for him."  
"But Mario, you were about to say something at Diddy's funeral before my brother stopped you and told everyone to go away. What were you gonna say?"  
Mario gave Toadette a rather serious look. "You heard the beginning of my speech, right? About how I have reason to believe that the accident may not have been an accident at all?"  
The idea filled Toadette with a feeling of impending fear, but she was still deathly curious. "Yes, I remember. What reasons do you have?"

Mario looked around the room, making sure no one was too close by, then leaned in close and spoke quietly.  
"The kart crashed because the front left wheel broke off. But the wheel only broke off because the bolts holding it in place had been loosened, and not by natural causes either... And Yoshi's tether that should've kept him in the kart? It was cut. Cut just enough so that if he went flying, it would break... Now, I have no idea who would do something like that, and God only knows _why_, but..."  
Toadette couldn't believe what she was hearing. What Mario spoke of was murder! Someone had actually wanted the accident to happen?! This was crazy! She found herself wanting to believe that the kart had crashed solely on account of natural causes. However, she couldn't really deny what Mario said. He was the Safety Inspector after all. It was his job to know these things...

Toadette looked at Mario with a worried expression. "...Who would do something like that? To Yoshi and Diddy, especially? They must've had a pretty damn good reason if it was worth killing someone over!"  
"I have no idea," Mario said apologetically. "Seriously though, if the crash really was planned and organized, what could the organizer possibly get?"  
"Revenge, maybe?" Toadette shrugged, just pulling an idea out of the air.  
"Well, like you said, against Yoshi and Diddy? What have they ever done to hurt anybody?"  
"Yeah..." Toadette thought. "Well... Let's think - Who actually has access to the karts before the race?"  
"As far as I know, only Koopa, Paratroopa, and the Repair Guys. But... The Repair Guys wouldn't do something like that. They can't hold a grudge against us - half of 'em don't even speak English! I also talked to Koopa and Paratroopa about it. They're the only ones besides us and Toad who know the cause of the accident. The short answer is, they don't know who did it either..."  
"Hmm... Well theoretically, don't all of us have access to the vehicles in the DDG before the race?"  
"Theoretically, yeah."  
"So theoretically, it could've been anybody."  
"Theoretically... yeah."  
Mario and Toadette began to eye everyone in the room. They must've had some pretty odd stares on their faces, because many eyes around the room had met theirs.

Could the accident really been an act of murder? Could the supposed murderer really have wanted both Diddy and Yoshi dead?  
If so, they'd done away with Diddy, but what about Yoshi? He was still alive, albeit in a hospital bed. Completely defenseless. If there really was a murderer, he'd have no trouble finishing Yoshi off right then and there...  
But perhaps the perpetrator's motive wasn't revenge? But what else could possess someone to rig a vehicle and cause it to crash badly enough to kill someone? It made no sense...

But the most burning question of all...  
The only people who have access to the vehicles in the DDG before any race - or at any time at all - were the staff and racers of the Double Dash team...  
_So who did it...?_

Mario and Toadette knew the same questions were running through both their heads. In fact, the more they thought, the more they began to wonder if the very person they were staring at could be trusted...

Mario turned his head towards the rest of the gang in the room. "...Should we tell everyone?" he whispered.  
Toadette thought for a second, then quickly shook her head. "No... Mario, if the person who did it is really one of the racers, we probably shouldn't..."  
"And why not?" Mario asked. "If it's really someone in this room, then they'll probably lay low and back off once they know we're on their tail."  
"But then we'll never find out who it is!" Toadette argued. "You don't want the person who hurt Yoshi and killed Diddy to just get away with it, do you? You're Super Mario! Justice is your middle name!"  
"Actually, it's 'Mario'..."  
"Ugh, you know what I mean! Look, I think we should keep this to ourselves..."  
"Well I think we should tell everyone..."

"Well I think we shouldn't! Think about what I'm saying, Mario!"

Mario looked around the room once more. As he did, he thought about what Toadette had said. Did he really want to risk the culprit getting away with it? Sure, if he and Toadette said something, it might scare the culprit into laying low, but then he or she would get away with what they'd done...  
Mario didn't want that. He _was_ a man of justice. Justice may as well have been his middle name!

Mario turned to Toadette and sighed. "Alright. Let's keep this between us."  
"And Koopa and Paratroopa, too." Toadette agreed. "You said they know, right? Who else does?"  
"Your brother," Mario replied looking out the window.  
"Right, of course..." Toadette replied.

After a little while of silence, Toadette spoke again. "So, all the people that know the true cause of the accident... We can assume none of them did it, right?"

Mario raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? It doesn't matter who knows and who doesn't."  
"No, just hear me out. OK, Koopa and Paratroopa told you they didn't do it, right?"  
"Yeah, they told me they didn't, but that doesn't necessarily mean they didn't..."  
"So you think Koopa and Paratroopa are the bad guys?"  
"I didn't say that. I'm just saying that they very well could be. In fact, Toad and I were thinking they'd be the only real logical suspects, seeing as they are the head automechanics..."  
"Right, well off that subject for now. We know Toad didn't do it, right?"  
"Why would he kill one of the racers of his own league? He's overworked as it is. Plus, he and Yoshi are tight friends. I highly doubt Toad had any part."  
"And us two? I know you couldn't have done it, Mario."  
"Yeah. I don't see why you would do something like that either... But really, why narrow the list down according to who knows what caused the accident? I'm telling you - all that's important is that the culprit himself knows what caused it, because... HE caused it!"  
"Or she..."  
"Or she. Whatever. Look, I don't really wanna talk about this..."  
"Are you sure maybe there's no one else that knows?"  
"Toadette, can we please drop it? At least for now?"  
"What about that Mr V guy? You know, the Vice President? Maybe he knows..."

"Toadette, PLEASE!!"

Mario hadn't intended to shout, but he did. And quite loudly. Everyone in the Resting Quarters had all but shut up and were just staring at him.  
"Umm... Sorry everyone," Mario apologized. "It's nothing to be concerned about. Go back to whatever it is you were... doing..."  
After a few moments of awkward silence, everyone had begun to talk amongst themselves again. Mario looked back at Toadette with a frown. "Sorry about that. I just... I've known Diddy and Yoshi for a pretty long time and it really just kills me to think about them right now. So, if you wanna know about Mr V or whoever, ask Toad. I'm sure he's acquainted with him."  
"OK..." Toadette replied quietly. She was still a little shaken by Mario's outburst. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were so upset..."  
"I already said it's OK. Don't worry about it."  
"OK. Thanks Mario."  
"No problem," Mario said with a smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think Peach needs a hand over there with Mario Jr. Talk to you later."

"Yeah, you too."  
With that, Mario stood up and walked over to the bed where Peach was sitting, rocking Baby Mario in her arms.

Toadette stayed on the bed, but did nothing but stare at the floor. Had Mario not started that speech at the funeral, she'd have probably just allowed the whole accident issue to slide past her and get on with life. But now that she believed there was someone to blame, she felt this tragedy was now something that couldn't just be forgotten like that - not until the perpetrator was found...

She eyed her fellow racers around the room...  
Some of them seemed terribly upset by the accident, namely DK and Birdo. However, others seemed rather indifferent about it. A few even seemed like they were having fun, as though there was nothing to be upset about. Weren't any of them besides her interested in Mario's interrupted speech?

Or maybe she just had it all wrong... Maybe they were all just trying to forget. Hell, maybe they were all still in denial. Yeah... All those smiles and laughs couldn't be genuine...  
However, she knew deep down that one smile in the room was for real... Who's it was, she didn't know. But it was there...

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to the Resting Quarters opened roughly. Everyone in the building quieted down right away as Toad stepped it. He was completely covered in dirt.  
"Everyone," he saluted, "I apologize for cutting Diddy's service short this evening. I did so because the security around Peach's Castle could only rent out the castle's field for the funeral for so long, and since we started late due to certain chain and shovel complications, we inadvertently ran out of time. Again, I apologize. However, Diddy's casket is now buried and marked, and the castle security has allowed visiting rights to the grave. Feel free to visit as you wish..."

Toad cleared his throat and continued. "Now then. On a different subject... We do have a race scheduled tomorrow, which will take place on Mushroom Bridge at 10 am. We have to start kind of early, since the race was originally scheduled for today. Also, after the race is done, please consider asking the Cheep-Cheep Blimp pilot to take you and your team member up to any one of the five versions of Rainbow Road in order to start practicing for the Rainbow World Cup. Remember, you'll wanna practice on all 5 if you can because the Rainbow World Cup spans every single one of 'em. Just 6 more days, folks! That'll be all. Now, it's past the designated hour, so it's Lights Out. Be up and ready at 8:30 tomorrow morning. 'Night everybody."  
Toad reached for the light switch and turned out the lights, sinking the whole interior of the building into blackness. In the dark, they heard the sound of the door closing, and Toad's tiny footsteps walking away.

After a few seconds, the sound of Toad's footsteps echoed off into the distance.  
It was dark and silent in the Resting Quarters...  
That is, until a voice shouted, "YEAH! COAST IS CLEAR!"

A flashlight beam shone across the room. It was from Bowser's bed and, coincidentally enough, from Bowser's hand. Bowser Jr leapt up from his bed and turned on his own flashlight, running over to join his dad. Wario, Waluigi, Petey, King Boo, Mario, Daisy, and a somewhat heavy-hearted Birdo also gathered around Bowser's bed. Bowser and Bowser Jr helped pull up a cooler from beneath the bed. They opened it up, and inside was a wide assortment of liquors, wines, vodkas, and rums... even some wine coolers (for the ladies, of course). Conversing quietly, they all helped themselves to a drink of their choice.

"Hey papa!' Bowser Jr said, "Can I have some of what you're drinking?"  
"No no son," Bowser reasoned, shaking a finger. "I'm drinking Brandy, and you're too young to drink it. If you want some, mix it with some Coca-Cola or something."

"Hey Mario, how goes it?" Daisy asked, popping open a Wine Cooler.  
"Ehh... Not great, considering the obvious, but good enough. You?"  
"Oh, I guess I'm alright. But yeah, could certainly be better."

"Aw... Come on guys, do you have to do this TONIGHT, too?!" Luigi called from his bed. "Isn't it bad enough you did it the night of the accident?!"  
"SHHH!!" Wario scolded, "Toad'll hear you, and then we'll get in trouble for not being in bed!"  
"No," Peach explained from her bed, "You'll get in trouble for having alcohol stronger than regular beer! You know the rules - we're only allowed to drink beer on our days off. Anything stronger than that can get you in serious trouble. There're kids here too, you know."  
"So?" Bowser asked, mixing a Brandy/Coca-Cola for his son.  
"Please guys," Luigi moaned, "You honestly think Toad doesn't know you have these stupid drinking parties after Lights Out?"  
"Oh c'mon, he doesn't know!" Waluigi argued. "That's what makes it so fun! And if he DID know, he would've said something by now!"  
"He's probably just biting his tongue cuz he knows you'd probably continue to do it anyway, even if you get caught and get in trouble for it," Peach suggested. "And Mario, put that bottle back. All that drinking isn't setting a good example for our son."  
"Aw, c'mon honey. He's asleep! He can't see me drinkin'..."  
"Now, Mario!"  
"Yes, dear..."

"Hey Daisy," Luigi said, "You're not setting a good example for our son either!"  
"He'll be fine, Luigi. Now go to bed."  
"Yes, dear..."

King Boo lapped up a glass of wine with his big tongue. "DK, you didn't join us last night. Are you ready to tonight?"  
DK didn't answer. He was already asleep.  
"Guess not..." King Boo said to himself, looking at Petey. Petey just shrugged and ate a bottle of Heineken.

"Poor DK..." Daisy said quietly, her statement directed at Mario. "I hope he feels better soon..."  
"Yeah, I sure hope so," Mario said. "There's not much we can do, though. Except hope and make him feel better. When he's awake of course."  
"Yeah... Hey, you ever compare Luigi's fathering skills to your own?" Daisy asked, changing the subject.  
Mario thought a bit. "Ehh... not really. Of course, I always kinda thought he'd make a good mother." Mario chuckled a bit at himself.  
Daisy laughed too. "Yeah... I do love him a lot, but man, I sometimes think there's a little gender confusion goin' on here!"  
Mario and Daisy continued to laugh while they drank together.

"Hey everybody..." Bowser said, putting his flashlight up to his chin. "Who wants to tell scary stories?" The light illuminated his face in a frightening way.  
"Aw, c'mon Bowser! You're already ugly enough!" cracked a voice from the dark. Probably Wario's.  
"Hey! You can talk to my son that way, but not ME!"  
"You tell him Papa!... Hey, wait!"  
Waluigi's laughter was heard. "Alright, who's got a good scary story? Toadette?"

Toadette was still over in her bed, and to be frank, she was in no mood for story-telling. She knew if she responded at all, they'd pester her to tell a story, so she merely said nothing and pretended to be asleep.  
"How about you, Birdo?" King Boo asked.  
Birdo responded in a few nasally sounds.  
"Huh? What do you mean 'the people reading the story won't understand you'? You're a weird... whatever you are."  
"Hey!" Daisy suggested, "Anyone ever heard of the Vice President? Mr V?"

All sound and motion in the room stopped. It was as though the very mention of the mysterious name had sucked the life right out of the whole room.  
Things remained silent and still for a few seconds...  
Until they heard Wario whispering something to Bowser Jr.  
The next thing they knew, they were looking into Wario's freaky illuminated face.

"I've heard about Mr V..." Wario said in a scary voice. "They say no one's ever seen him in person, and that he only chooses to contact others via telephone. I've heard that, despite the fact that he's Vice President of the Double Dash team, the Vice President's office is always vacant. You could even walk in there while you're talking to him on the phone, and you still won't see anyone. However, it's known that he does indeed punch in and out of work everyday, but he's just never, ever seen..."  
Koopa and Paratroopa made several loud barks in protest from their beds.  
"Shut up, you two! And watch your mouths! Besides, everything I'm saying is true! No one can even explain HOW he became the Vice President. Not even Toad... As for me, I personally think he's the ghost of a fallen racer who hopes to lead us all to our DEATHS!"  
Daisy took Bowser's flashlight and shone it on her own face. "I once heard Mr V was such a mysterious and secluded guy as a child that he actually turned invisible as he grew up..."  
Waluigi took Wario's flashlight. "I heard that's he's a shape-shifter who takes the form of a spider during the day to avoid detection... and then takes the form of a wolf at night to eat people!"  
King Boo then took Daisy's flashlight. "I heard that if you enter his office while you're talking to him on the phone, you'll see what he truly is. However, no one knows what he looks like, because anyone who's seen him has never been seen AGAIN!"  
"That's impossible!" Wario shouted. "I just said that if you do that, you'll just see that the office is empty! You're lying!"  
"Well, maybe YOU'RE lying!"

"_Go to sleep! All of you!_"

Everyone froze when the unrecognizable voice ordered them all to go to sleep.  
After a short while of silence, Petey nudged Wario playfully. He said something in Pirahna talk.

"You stupid weed!" Wario whispered loudly. "I didn't say that!"  
"Well who did then?" Bowser questioned.

"_Mr V said it,_" the voice came again. "_Now go to sleep. All of you. You have a race tomorrow._"

Bowser Jr was shaking. "Papa...?"  
Bowser snarled. "Alright, this isn't funny! Which one of you's pretendin' to be Mr V?"  
He grabbed the flashlight from Waluigi's hand and shone it on everyone's face, one by one. When the light was shone upon each person, those who were awake shrugged and shook their heads. Those who were asleep didn't move at all.

"_As your Vice President, I'm telling you all to go to sleep..._" came the dark voice once again. It sounded as though the very darkness that surrounded them all was the one speaking, threatening them to fall asleep or die...

"M-Mr V? Where are you...?" Mario asked. It was noticed that Daisy was clutching his arm tightly.

"_Well, I'm gone now..._" Whispered the voice.

_**SLAM!  
**_

The sound of the door slamming shut made the girls yelp and many of them jump. Terrified, Bowser and King Boo aimed their flashlights at the door.  
It was closed.

This was way more than enough for them all to handle. They quickly put away their drinks, scurried over to their respective beds, and fell asleep as best they could. It was time to call it a night...


	4. Day 3

**Day 3**

**_5 Days Remain..._**

**_--_**

"I hope you all enjoyed your day off yesterday. Today we're racing on Mushroom Bridge, so... yeah, you know the drill. Go ahead and pair up, head to the DDG to pick your kart, then drive it over to Mushroom Bridge so we can get started. We start in one hour, so let's get goin'."  
Shortly after Toad finished talking, everyone in the Resting Quarters immediately broke out in conversation, deciding who they wished to be paired up with for the coming race.

"Mario, want me to be your partner?" Peach asked.  
Mario laughed a little. "Aw, honey. We were partners last time! And the time before that even! I think maybe we should broaden our horizons a little and race with some different people."  
"Ohhh... I get it. You just don't LOVE me anymore!"  
Peach's little joke made Mario laugh again. "Don't worry about a thing. It'll be fine."  
"OK. So who are you gonna race with then?"  
Mario did a sweep of the room. "Umm... Waluigi looks like he doesn't have a partner at the moment. Maybe I'll fancy a go with him. I hear he's pretty fun to race with."  
"Hmm..." thought Peach, looking around. As she did, she saw a scene happening on the other side of the room. It looked as though Paratroopa had teamed up with King Boo and Koopa was left partnerless at the moment. She thought maybe his Triple Shells would come in handy.  
"I think I'll go ask Koopa before someone else," she said.  
Mario nodded. "Alright. Be quick, though. The Koopas are pretty popular."  
"OK!" Peach said, jumping up. "See you on the racetrack Mario!"  
"You too Peach!" Mario called out.

Mario then walked over and picked up Baby Mario. "Hey little man! You wanna race with your cousin, don't ya?"  
Baby Mario cooed.  
"I thought so. Here you go!"  
Mario placed Baby Mario on the ground near Baby Luigi. The two high-fived each other and were the first team to start heading out to the DDG.

Within ten minutes, the teams had been decided - Mario and Waluigi, Peach and Koopa, Wario and Petey, Bowser and Bowser Jr, Luigi and Daisy, Toad and Toadette, King Boo and Paratroopa, and DK and Birdo. By that point, they were all heading to the DDG to pick out their karts and drive them over to Mushroom Bridge so they could start the race. Mario, Koopa and Paratroopa had gotten up extra early and headed to the DDG to do some extra work and inspection on each and every kart. After the accident that had happened 3 days ago, they were now aware of how dangerous - and lethal - these races could be, even when they appeared 100 safe on the outside. The three had inspected every nook and cranny of the kart armada. No loose tire bolts. No cut tethers. All the karts were in tip-top shape. On top of that, they'd paid a particular Repair Guy extra money to get up early and keep an eye on the garage, lest anyone try to sneak in and tamper with any vehicles. They had really taken all the precautions necessary to make sure something so terrible wouldn't happen again...

When Mario and Waluigi arrived at the DDG, Mario immediately went over to the Repair Guy who was keeping watch.  
"Perdon seZor," Mario said to him. "Viste a alquien?"  
"No, nadie entró," the Repair Guy responded.  
"Está bien. Gracias," Mario said. He then walked back over to Waluigi, who looked at Mario all confused.  
"What the hell were you talking to that guy about?" Waluigi asked.  
"Nothing."  
"Oh, come on! You were obviously talking about something!"  
"Why's it any of your business?"  
"I dunno, but I want to know anyway!"  
"Let's just say I'm doing my job."  
"What? You're being a Safety Inspector?"  
"Yes. I'm doing what I can to make sure we don't have another accident like the one 3 days ago."  
Waluigi gave Mario a rather odd look, but then just shook his head. "Bleh, let's just go pick our kart already. I say we take the Waluigi Kart!"  
"Whatever..." Mario said with a groan.  
As Mario was helping Waluigi to roll the Waluigi Kart out of the garage, he happened to look over and see Peach and Koopa hopping into one of the available Turbo Yoshis. Seeing her get into that particular vehicle made him feel a bit uneasy... Of course, because it was the kart Diddy had been driving that crashed... and also, staring at the face on the front of the car reminded him of Yoshi. He'd still yet to go visit him in the hospital, but he wondered if he really wanted to...  
Mario had to close his eyes and scold himself. He didn't want these bad memories to be surfacing. At least not right then. He was about to do a race, and he needed to be pumped and ready for it. Once he saw they had now gotten the kart outside, and once he saw Waluigi jump into the driver's seat, Mario jumped into the backseat. They then sped off towards the racetrack.

As they were driving, Toad and Toadette pulled up alongside them in the Toadette Kart. Toad stood up in the backseat and called over. "Hey Waluigi!"  
"What do you want?" Waluigi shouted back.  
"I forgot to ask - did you remember to restock all the items!"  
"Yeah! I'm the Items Commissioner, baby! It's my job! 100 Green Shells, 100 Red Shells, 20 Blue Shells, and a crapload of bananas for every race! I remembered! Don't worry about it!"  
"What about the Special Items and stuff?"  
"It's all taken care of Toad! Relax!"  
"OK, just making sure! Oh, and does King Boo have all the special effects ready?"  
"How the hell should I know? Go ask him!"  
"Umm... Ah whatever! I'm sure he's got in all under control!"  
The Waluigi Kart and Toadette Kart drove side by side to each other all the way to Mushroom Bridge, where the race would commence shortly...

* * *

Within the hour, all racers had lined up at the starting line for the race around Mushroom Bridge. Mario and Waluigi started the race in first place, while it was noticed that Bowser and Bowser Jr, who were driving the Koopa King, were starting in 8th. Everyone had their engines revved up and were waiting for Lakitu to drop down with the signal light that would start the race...

"Hey Mario!" Luigi called out from the Bloom Coach.  
"What's up Luigi?!" Mario answered back.  
"50 coins say Daisy and I beat you and Waluigi!"  
"Why not make it 100?!" Waluigi cracked.

"Deal!"  
Daisy looked up at Luigi from the driver's seat. "Luigi! What did I tell you about gambling? These are family friendly races! Besides, you're setting a bad example for our son..." She pointed at Baby Luigi, who was sitting in the driver's seat of a Barrel Train with Baby Mario.  
"_I'm_ setting a bad example? What about you and your drinking?"  
"A glass of wine a day is good for you."  
"Yeah but, you drink wine coolers... by the bottle."  
"That's good enough. Now be quiet, the race is gonna start soon."

"Yes dear..."

Indeed, Daisy was right. Not a second later, Lakitu lowered himself down above the passengers, holding the signal light by the end of his fishing pole.  
This moment before every race always felt the same, yet it never felt old. It was like the calm before a storm... A tangible aura of anxiety, excitement, and adrenaline surrounding the racers... It was as though their hearts had stopped, and the only thing that would get them beating again was the flash of the green light...

Lakitu began the countdown...

_3...__2__...__1__..._..

_**START!!**_**  
**

At that moment, the squeal of tires was heard all around as every driver stomped on their accelerator.  
_ZOOOOOOOOOM!!  
_Nearly every team had pulled off a double dash and were already speeding around the first curve. The only ones who had failed to pull it off were Bowser and Bowser Jr.  
"C'mon Papa!" Bowser Jr whined. "Get driving already!"  
"I'm trying! But it won't go!"  
"It's the pedal on the _right_, Papa!"  
"Huh? Oh, yeah!"  
"You've been driving for HOW long again?"  
"Be quiet and get ready to Mini-Turbo!"

Up further ahead on the racetrack, Waluigi and Mario were neck and neck with Daisy and Luigi, driving through the second tunnel. In their desperate attempts to pass one another, they didn't notice they were both about to rear-end a Wiggler Bus. Waluigi turned sharply to the left to avoid, and he did so with only a couple inches to spare. Daisy had tried to turn around it the other way, but she turned too late and accidentally brushed the side of the bus, causing her to spin out. Waluigi laughed with wicked pleasure.  
"Yo Mario, I just drove us through an item box a few yards back. What've you got?"  
"A Green Shell!"  
"Nice! Wait 'til my signal then throw it backwards!"  
"Uhh... Sure, OK!"

Waluigi drove them across Mushroom Bridge and to the finish line, putting them in the 2nd lap. Waluigi still hadn't signalled for Mario to throw the shell yet. Mario was getting nervous, because it looked like Daisy and Luigi had recovered from their previous mishap and were catching up quickly. It was only a matter of time before they got a Red Shell or something that would knock he and Waluigi out of first place.  
Mario turned around to look at the racetrack ahead. They were almost out of the first tunnel now, and all there was a Bob-Omb car on the road ahead.  
"Hey Waluigi!" Mario shouted against the wind, "Daisy and Luigi are catching up! When should I throw the shell back?!"  
"Just one second!"

Waluigi drove in close to the Bob-omb Car, then quickly steered left to the side of it, then right again, cutting it off. Daisy and Luigi, who were so close that Mario could make out their competitive faces, were just about to do the same.  
"NOW!"

Mario chucked the Green Shell backwards. It struck the Bob-Omb Car, causing it to explode. Daisy and Luigi were caught in the explosion and were sent skyward, doing a backflip and landing on their tires once again. Waluigi and Mario managed to speed ahead a great distance. They had entered the second tunnel by the time Daisy and Luigi were just rounding the bend. All they had to do was retain this excellent lead for another trip across the bridge and one more lap and the race would be theirs!

And indeed, Mario and Waluigi managed to keep their lead for another whole lap. They were now about to enter the second tunnel, so all they had to do was drive through it, and over the bridge to win! Daisy and Luigi were so preoccupied with Wario and Petey, who were in 3rd place, that they couldn't catch up. Waluigi and Mario were gonna win for sure!

Mario was thinking about the victory so much that he didn't even notice their kart slowing down. Waluigi had to shout it for him to even notice.  
"Hey Mario, what the hell's up with my kart?"  
"Huh?" Mario asked, "Why? What's happening?"  
"It just stopped working! I can't get it to accelerate! It's like the engine's dead!"  
"What? No way! We inspected the vehicles extra carefully this morning! And the one Repair Guy said no one was in the DDG all morning, either! What's going on?!"  
"I don't know, but at this rate, we won't reach the finish line in the kart."  
"Fine! Let's get out and run!"  
"Run?!"  
"Yeah! It's allowed! But we both have to cross the finish line for it to count!"  
"Umm... OK. Let's go already!"  
With that, Mario and Waluigi abandoned their vehicle and ran out the tunnel, ready to cross Mushroom Bridge to the finish line. They couldn't win, surely. It was only a matter of time before Daisy and Luigi sped by them to take the gold. They could try, though. They could certainly try.

Meanwhile, Bowser and Bowser Jr were just now zipping through the first tunnel on their 3rd lap, and they were undoubtedly in 8th place. Bowser Jr had now taken over the wheel, for it was then certain that he was a better driver. However, Bowser wasn't doing so hot as the item handler either.  
"Hey Jr?! What's this thing again?! I forget!"  
"What thing? I can't look back there, ya know!"  
"Um, right. It's all blue and has wings and spikes and stuff..."  
"Oh, Papa! That's a Spiny Shell! Hurry! Throw it! THROW IT!!"  
"Throw it? Throw it at what?!"  
"Just throw it forward! It'll fly on it's own! You know that!"  
"Um... Of course I do..." Bowser mumbled. "But wait, what's this red thing tied to the bottom of it...?"  
"Who cares! Just THROW IT!!"  
"Umm... alright!" Bowser said, chucking the Spiny Shell forward. It opened its wings and flew ahead at high speed, leaving a blue trail in the air.  
"Whoa! That thing can FLY!"  
"Be quiet and get ready to Mini-Turbo!!"

Mario and Waluigi were only about halfway across the bridge, but they were running so hard they had worn themselves out, and they wondered if they could even make it. Waluigi suddenly stopped for air, and Mario, knowing he couldn't win without Waluigi, stopped and waited. Not a second later, Daisy and Luigi zoomed by, making cutting remarks as they did. Just another half of the bridge for them to go and they would win...

Suddenly, a familiar whooshing sound caught Mario's ear. He looked behind him and saw something incredible - a Spiny Shell! Homing in on Daisy and Luigi! And it was gonna hit them while they were still on the bridge! If he and Waluigi ran their absolute hardest, they might reach the finish line while Daisy and Luigi are still recovering from the blast! If they had a chance, they'd have to start running now!  
"Waluigi!" Mario shouted, "Look! A Spiny Shell! It's gonna hit them, so if we run now, we might make it!"  
Waluigi looked up and saw the Spiny Shell zoom right over their heads, flying straight for Daisy and Luigi. It was strange, but Mario thought he saw something red on the bottom of it as it passed over. Whatever it was, though, he quickly let it slip from his mind. "C'mon Waluigi! Let's go!!"

But Waluigi was staring at the Spiny Shell as it travelled, as though he didn't want to even risk getting near the explosion. Did he not know that the explosions in the races were simply blasts of concentrated air? He must have! He was the Items Commissioner for goodness sake!  
But no... Waluigi watched the Spiny Shell with a much more serious look than Mario would've expected. He wasn't sure what Waluigi was thinking about, but it couldn't be good.

Mario felt himself about to take another step, but he looked back at Waluigi once more, who was staring at that shell as though in a trance. He clearly wasn't going to move on his own, but if Mario had to coax him, they weren't gonna win. Mario decided he'd just have to eat the loss. However, he didn't want to get any worse than 3rd, so he ran back to try and make Waluigi get started running...

Daisy and Luigi had just exited the second tunnel and were turning onto Mushroom Bridge for the 3rd and final time. As they sped along the traffic-infested bridge, they happened to notice Mario and Waluigi running towards the finish line. Running? But why? Daisy did seem to remember seeing a Waluigi Kart just sitting in the second tunnel. Possibly theirs. Had it broken down, maybe? That was strange... These karts never had a history of breakdowns in the past. It seemed odd, especially after that accident that had happened just 3 days before...  
But Daisy didn't really care. If those two were left to run, there was no way they could win. She and Luigi would win, no matter what!  
"We're gonna win, Luigi! We're gonna win!" Daisy shouted excitedly as she zoomed past the unfortunate pair of runners. The finish line was coming up fast.  
"Yeah!" Luigi hollered. "We win the race AND 100 coins from Mario! This is awesome!"

However, Luigi's voice suddenly sounded concerned. "Oh no... Daisy! Spiny Shell alert!"  
Daisy looked into her rearview mirror and groaned. "Will it hit us before we reach the finish line?"  
Luigi had to take a second to think, but he didn't have long, since the Spiny Shell was zipping through the air above the road towards them extremely fast. It would make impact in a matter of seconds. "I think so!"  
"Who else is on the bridge?"  
"Petey and Wario, and Peach and Koopa are just getting on!"  
Daisy looked ahead and saw they were still a good 50 feet or so from the finish line. "We can't take the blow! We gotta dodge it!"  
"Dodge it?!" Luigi asked in desperation. He looked back and saw the Spiny Shell was but a few yards from them. He even thought he could see something red attached to the bottom of it. "How!?"  
"Mini-Turbo!"  
With that, Daisy started drifting off to the left, and Luigi used his backhand steering mechanism to ready a Mini-Turbo as fast as he could. As he did, he didn't take his eyes off the Spiny Shell behind him. Just as the sparks on their tires turned blue, it began to home in and prepare for the strike...

At that moment, Daisy stopped drifting and released the Mini-Turbo, causing the kart to boost off to the left and the Spiny Shell to go haywire and veer off to the right in indecision. Daisy reached back and Luigi gave her a high-five as they were just about to cross the finish line.  
Looking behind, they watched the Spiny Shell suddenly flop, drop, and collide with the ground...

_**KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!!**_

An absolutely enormous explosion rocked the bridge! The massive red and yellow fireball that engulfed a huge section of the bridge was certainly not that of a standard Spiny Shell. Mario and Waluigi were blown backwards several feet and landed hard on their behinds. Seconds later, a sedan that had been driving on the bridge came hurtling from within the explosion, completely engulfed in flames. It landed with a _CRASH!_ mere feet from Waluigi and barrel-rolled a few times before colliding with a truck in a huge mess of fiery debris.  
After Mario sat up, he only stared at the blast as it disappeared into a huge cloud of black, rising smoke. Then, all of a sudden, a thought struck him like a bullet.  
"LUIGI!!" he screamed, standing up and running in the direction of the smoke cloud. "DAISY!!"

Waluigi watched as Mario ran. The Spiny Shell had veered off to the right before it exploded, he remembered, and peering through the smoke, Waluigi could vaguely make out the damage that the explosion had done. It looked as though a huge, fiery giant had just taken a monstrous bite out of the right side of the end of the bridge with big, flaming teeth. Only the far left traffic lane had been spared, and he could see Mario running across it in a panic as he disappeared into the smoke. Several vehicles had been thrown off course or were overturned. Many were even on fire, and he knew for sure that some of them had fallen through the gaping hole into the water below. It was a good thing the vehicles that drove around Mushroom Bridge on race days were merely robots made for the Mario Kart Grand Prix, so there no one was getting hurt. Well, except possibly Luigi and Daisy...

Just as Waluigi stood up to go after Mario, Peach and Koopa in their Turbo Yoshi zoomed past him on his right side. Waluigi was about to yell to them that they were driving straight into danger, but thankfully, they already knew something was wrong and stopped right before the sight of the explosion. Peach immediately jumped out of her kart and ran back across the bridge towards Waluigi.  
"Waluigi!" she asked. "You were racing with Mario, right? Where is he?!"  
"Peach, a Spiny Shell was going after Daisy and Luigi. They dodged it, but when it hit the ground, it made this HUUUGE explosion! We think Luigi and Daisy might have gotten hurt, so Mario ran up there to go see!"  
"Oh my goodness... Luigi and Daisy?!" she asked, wide-eyed.  
"Yeah! I was gonna go follow him! You gonna come to? It looks kinda dangerous, so I don't think you should!"

Peach stared at the site of the explosion and bit her nails under her glove. It scared her to death that the man she loved was in there, plus the fact that his brother and her own best friend might've been hurt, or even killed. However, it did look really dangerous. There was fire everywhere, and seeing as that section of the bridge only had one lane being held up, she wondered how stable the bridge actually was at that point...  
Looking over, she saw Petey and Wario setting up an emergency roadblock to stop all the other racers in the Grand Prix from getting on the bridge. Koopa was still standing next to the Turbo Yoshi, staring at the carnage in awe.

"...I'll go with you," Peach said to Waluigi, "And let's bring Koopa too."  
"Sure thing," Waluigi replied. "I'll run ahead. You get Koopa and meet me up there, alright?"  
"Alright," Peach answered.  
The two then split. Waluigi ran into the smoke across the single lane and Peach ran towards Koopa, who still wasn't doing much.

Peach grabbed him by the shoulder, and he quickly came to and turned to face her. He barked loudly.  
"I don't know! Waluigi said that a Spiny Shell was going after Daisy and Luigi, and that it made this big explosion that blew up this whole chunk of the bridge!"  
Koopa went wide-eyed and barked a few more times.  
"Waluigi says they dodged it, but they could still be hurt! Mario and Waluigi have already run ahead to help them! Come on, we're going too!"

Koopa barked excitedly and undid the tether around his wrist. They then began to run into the smoky cloud towards the only lane that hadn't been blown up. The smoke was so thick it was hard to see, so they could easily take a wrong step and go hurtling into the water below. There were whirlpools down there too, so that wouldn't be good to get caught and swallowed up by one...

Peach's line of thought was interrupted by an ear-splitting sound that made her stop. Koopa must've heard it, because he stopped running too. It sounded like a metal girder being snapped in half...  
Suddenly, the sound came again. Louder this time. And a wave of fear swept over the two as it was accompanied by a massive jolt that shook the entire bridge. In the thick smoke, Peach and Koopa couldn't see much but each other, but they swore they heard the sound of something big landing in the water with a huge SPLASH!!

Suddenly, another loud sound rang through the air, and the bridge began to groan incessantly.  
Koopa barked nervously.  
"I don't know..." Peach muttered. She had a feeling in her gut, though, that something was very, very wrong...

_CRRRACK!!_

The road beneath Peach's feet suddenly gave way. She screamed and stumbled backwards, hearing the sound of many chunks of gravel splashing into the water.

Another loud _CRRRRRACK!!_

And then, the unthinkable happened...

Peach and Koopa suddenly felt the ground beneath them fall several feet, and when they landed after being airborne for a second, they felt the entire road beneath them was sloped at an angle! A loud SPLASH!!complimented the sudden drop.  
Peach and Koopa found themselves rolling down the sloped ground beneath them. They realized now that their worst fears had come true... The half of the bridge they were on was collapsing. It had snapped loose and was sloped right into the ocean below. If they allowed themselves to roll down anymore, they would be swimming with the fishes. They tried desperately to dig their palms into the gravel to stop themselves.  
"MARIO!!" Peach shouted. "MARIO!! HELP!!"  
Koopa barked loudly, hoping maybe someone would hear his cries, too.

By this point, the smoke was beginning to clear up. However, not before Koopa heard the sound of metal scraping against concrete. He looked up and saw an overturned truck sliding down the slope on the other side of the road. It slid and dropped into the hole that had been created by the explosion, where it fell a few feet into the ocean with a big splash.  
Suddenly, he and Peach both heard the sound of more and more vehicles beginning to slide down into the churning sea as the slope of the bridge became steeper and steeper. Peach and Koopa found it more and more difficult to hold on. If they had any hopes of surviving, they would have to run up the slope to the end of the bridge that was still intact. It would be dangerous, but they had no choice.

Peach got on all fours and started crawling up the slanting bridge. A Wiggler Bus tumbled down mere inches from her, and she watched as it crashed into the roaring ocean several yards back. In desperation, she increased her efforts to climb up.  
Koopa saw what Peach was doing and decided it wad the best option. He began to crawl up too. Peach looked back to make sure Koopa was holding up OK before continuing to climb up. However, when she turned around, her heart stopped when she saw a mushroom car rolling right towards her. She screamed and leapt to the side.  
But too late. It's heavy frame landed right on her left leg. She could hear the bones inside being crushed. The pain was so intense she at first couldn't even make a sound. A few seconds later and she was screaming and crying for her life. Koopa climbed up quickly in attempt to help her, but there was little he could do. He instead barked extra loud with hopes that maybe Mario or Waluigi, or even Luigi and Daisy if they were OK, would hear him.

Mario and Waluigi's faces suddenly came into view. Koopa waved to them and called for their assistance. Mario bravely leapt over the crack onto the sloping bridge that was sinking quicker than ever into the water. He slid down in a cool pose until he reached Peach.  
"Thanks Koopa," Mario uttered as he hoisting the crying Peach up onto his back. "Keep pullin' up! I'll be back for you!"  
Koopa nodded and continued to try and pull himself up towards safety. He was glad to see Mario had eventually been able to get Peach to safety, but still... The angle of the bridge must've been 45 degrees at that point, and was getting closer to vertical by the second. By now, all the vehicles in the danger zone had slid into the water already, so they were no longer a threat. However, he was still in danger of being swallowed by the sea and the vortexes within. He prayed and continued to pull himself up.

Koopa was delighted to see Mario once again show his face from up where it was safe. He must've been just about 20 feet away. Koopa was hopeful now that he would be able to make it...

However, just as Mario stepped over the crack, an ear-splitting _SNAP!_ was heard. The noise struck Koopa's heart with fear. What was about to happen...?

Another _SNAP!!_, and the ground beneath Koopa suddenly swung into a completely vertical slope! He struggling to hold onto the concrete, but there was nothing to hold onto. He tumbled back and fell nearly thirty feet into the ocean, landing directly on his head.  
He was disoriented at first, not knowing which direction the surface was, but he finally managed to poke his head out of the water. He looked up the vertical stone wall at Mario and Waluigi, and even saw Luigi and Daisy standing next to them! Seeing them alive made him feel better...

Fear filled his chest again when he noticed the crowd on the bridge going into a panic. Koopa himself began to panic as he saw the stone wall before him suddenly begin to break loose and fall over... Right on top of him! Koopa barked fearfully and attempted to dive under in order to escape the concrete's blow.  
However, he wasn't fast enough. He had gotten a few feet under when he felt an unbelievably strong force smash against his shell. It struck so hard that he felt his shell crack under its power.  
He saw the corpses of many sunken cars at the bottom of the sea, many of which were being pulled in by the force of the vortexes nearby.  
It was the last thing Koopa ever saw before his vision faded to black...

* * *

Peach lay in her hospital bed, her left leg held up in a cast. She had just regained consciousness and saw all the members of the Double Dash team standing around her bed. Everyone sighed with relief when she woke up.  
"Ugghhh..." she moaned. "When did I get here?"

The Ratooey doctor who had taken care of her was nearby. "Do you remember Peach? According to Mario, a mushroom car came tumbling towards you when the midsection of Mushroom Bridge collapsed. It crushed your left leg and broke it in three different places. In fact, it crushed your leg so badly it even broke the skin, and you were bleeding quite badly. You passed out from the pain as well as from blood loss, but you needn't worry - you'll be fine."  
"Can I still race?" she asked.  
"Not for a few days. You've lost a lot of blood, so you'll need a blood transfusion if you're to do much of anything from here on out. We've got a shipment of donated blood coming in tomorrow morning, so until then, expect to feel a bit woozy. After that's taken care of, however, it's possible that you can race after letting your leg heal for a few days."  
"Oh, OK..." Peach replied.  
"At least be thankful you managed to get out of your situation alive..."  
Peach's eyes then shot open. "Koopa! He was with me when the bridge started to collapse! Is he OK too?"

Mario shook his head. "No Peach... I didn't get to him fast enough. The bridge fell so fast, and Koopa fell into the water. He could've made it, but the road suddenly fell over right on top of him. We couldn't see what happened, but Search and Rescue never found him. They said he must've got caught in the pull of one of the vortexes and... He's gone, Peach. He's gone."  
Peach looked over at Paratroopa, who nodded with a sorrowful face. Poor thing must not have been able to believe that his lifelong partner was just a memory now.

"Oh, Poor Koopa... At least everyone else made it out, right? Luigi? Daisy?"  
Luigi and Daisy showed themselves. "Yup," Daisy explained. "We managed to dodge that Spiny with a well-timed Mini-Turbo. Good thing, too - that thing would've blown us to pieces."  
"Seriously!" added Luigi. "Funny though... The force of the explosion behind us actually propelled us over the finish line. So, umm... We won the race! AND won 100 coins! Umm... well, not that it matters now."

Indeed, none of that DID matter now. Koopa was now the second member of the Mario Kart Double Dash team to be killed in a freak accident... and Peach was the second to be seriously injured. All this in two races right in a row! Madness!  
Peach then looked at the doctor. "Doctor? How's Yoshi doing?"  
The Ratooey smiled and moved aside, revealing Yoshi in the bed next to her. He was fully conscious, and sure looked happy to see everyone, despite his evident pain. Of course, seeing Peach in her hospital bed made him frown again.  
"Yoshi?" he asked.  
"Oh... It's terrible, I know," Peach said over to him. "Looks like it'll be just you and me in here for a little while."  
Yoshi forced a smile and nodded, though that just seemed to make his head hurt, for he promptly stopped and plopped his head back on the pillow with a painful squeal. The Ratooey doctor shook his head. "Yoshi, What have I told you about nodding? You have a fracture in your frickin' skull. It's common sense!"

Peach turned back to the group around her. "I appreciate you all coming to visit me here. Especially you, Mario. Thank you for saving me out there..."  
Mario smiled and nodded. "No problem. Saving you is just what I do!"  
Everyone laughed a little. However, Peach soon realized that someone in the crowd was missing. Of course, Diddy and Koopa couldn't be there... and neither could Yoshi. Someone besides them... Who was it?"  
Peach then thought she knew. "Hey Toadette?" she asked.  
"Yeah Peach?" Toadette replied.  
"Where's your brother?"

Everyone looked at Toadette and expected an answer. They, too, were wondering where Toad had gone during such an urgent time. "I dunno..." she said. "He's probably back at the office. This whole thing has just created a boatload more work for him. I mean, we have to consider that Mushroom Bridge is one of the Mushroom Kingdom's most famous landmarks (as stated in the MK:DD Instruction Manuel), so the costs to repair the damage done to it must be crazy high!"  
"Oh yeah, that's right," Wario recalled, "That was the bridge that General Franklin D Koopsevelt had built so that people could get over to Mushroom Island and cross over Mushroom Bay, which flows in from Mushroom Ocean..."  
"Right," Toadette said. "In any case, don't worry Peach. I'm sure Toad will visit you once all that stuff is sorted out!"

Peach then began to drift into deep thought. "...What do you think it is that made the bridge explode anyway?"  
Everyone looked at one another and mumbled, not sure what to think. From what they'd heard of eyewitness accounts - namely from Mario, Waluigi, Luigi, and Daisy - a Spiny Shell had crashed and blown up the bridge. But... just a normal Spiny Shell? It couldn't have been...  
"King Boo!" Luigi asked. "You're in charge of the special effects, right? Did you have anything to do with it?"  
King Boo's face grew tense. "Are you fuggin' KIDDING me?! I deal in visual effects only! That explosion couldn't have come from any of my equipment! Stop trying to put the blame on me!"  
"Does anyone remember throwing a Blue Shell near the end of the race?"  
"I do," Bowser said. "I don't know if it was the one that blew up the bridge though. I do remember seeing something kinda red at the bottom of it..."  
Mario and Waluigi remembered seeing something red on the Spiny Shell's underside as it passed over as well, plus Luigi saw it as it was coming in for the strike. Could this 'red thing' on the bottom of it had aided in the explosion?

"Bowser, do you remember what the red thing looked like?"  
Bowser grumbled. "How the hell should I remember?! Jr and I were in last place! We were desperate to do something, so I just kinda chucked the shell really fast! I don't remember a thing. Sorry! And even if it WAS the thing that blew up the bridge, it's not like it's MY fault! It just came to me through the Item Roulette! That's all! I swear!"  
"It's true!" Bowser Jr cried, trying to chime in.  
"Well fine then, who handles the item distribution during the races then...?"

Waluigi suddenly changed the subject. "Oh, and you guys know something else? My kart's engine stalled right in the tunnel before the bridge, so we had to get out and run! I think whoever was supposed to examine the karts before the races wasn't doing a very good job..."

Everyone suddenly found themselves looking at Mario. Mario shot Waluigi an angry look, then threw his hands up. "Hey, I swear to you all! Koopa, Paratroopa and I made sure every kart was in top condition! Hell, we even paid a Repair Guy to stay and guard the place! I don't know what went wrong with our kart, Waluigi, but you can't blame me for that! Honest! We did the best we could. I did the best I could! Besides, who cares about what happened to our kart? What does that have to do with Mushroom Bridge blowing up and Koopa getting killed, huh!?"

Waluigi was about to say something in protest when Peach finally screamed. "STOP IT! STOP ARGUING! ALL OF YOU!!"

Peach's outburst was enough to make everyone sulk back and be quiet.  
"I appreciate you all coming to visit me, but come on - if the accident's all you wanna talk about, don't do it around me. I already have bad enough memories of that bridge falling down with me on it, so... Just go. All of you. I wanna be alone now."  
Everyone simply nodded and began to slowly leave the hospital room. Birdo stopped by Yoshi's bed and said something to him in nasally Birdo talk before leaving herself. DK and Paratroopa were the last ones out of the room...

* * *

Later that night, Paratroopa and Bowser Jr were dropped off on the Super Mario Kart edition of Rainbow road by the Cheep-Cheep blimp. After wheeling the Parade Kart out from the blimp's cargo hold, it immediately departed. Bowser Jr waved good-bye as it flew away. "Be back for us in an hour, alright?!" he called out to the pilot.

Once the blimp was out of sight, Bowser Jr hopped into the Parade Kart's driver seat. He then looked and saw Paratroopa simply standing and staring out at the starry night. He seemed as though he'd totally forgotten the reason why he was up there. Bowser Jr was growing impatient and saw fit to remind him. "Hellooo?! Paratroopa?! You agreed to come up here to help me practice for the Rainbow World Cup! It's in, like, 5 days! Did you completely forget or what?!"

Paratroopa looked back at Bowser Jr with sad eyes. He then barked in a tone that matched his mood.  
Bowser Jr just grunted. "Yeah, so Koopa's dead. Mario's killed tons of Koopas in the past. I don't see why THAT one was so important!"  
Paratroopa just shook his head. He wasn't sure why, but he found himself climbing up into the Parade Kart's backseat behind Bowser Jr. He barked as though he was ready to begin practicing.  
"Alright!" Bowser Jr yelled excitedly, revving up the kart's engine. "Let's start off driving kinda slow, since I don't really know this course too well. It was made before I was even born, I think."  
Bowser Jr stepped on the gas pedal slightly and began to cruise along at a steady pace. He hoped to learn the course's layout before he went attempting any Time Trials.

Since they weren't doing anything to rigorous, Bowser Jr decided to strike up a conversation. "So... The Rainbow World Cup. You excited about it?"

Paratroopa had to think about that for a second, but then finally decided to nod. Bowser Jr saw in his rearview mirror. "Cool. Me too! I'm totally psyched about it!! Wonder what team we're going against? I haven't heard anything about that..."  
Paratroopa simply shrugged. He clearly wasn't in a talking mood.  
Bowser Jr braked as he was approaching a group of flashing Thwomps. He waited for one to crash onto the ground, then as it was rising up, he cruised right under and continued to drive at a brisk pace. He was probably about a third of the way done with one lap.  
"So..." Bowser Jr then said, "We've had two big accidents in four days. Can you believe it? Kinda scary, huh?"  
Paratroopa made a brief bark and nodded. This was kind of a touchy issue for him. However, Bowser Jr didn't even seem to notice. "Yeah," he continued, "I still hadn't even gotten over the first one, and BOOM! Mushroom Bridge just blows up like that! And they were blaming my dad because he was the one that threw the Spiny Shell that blew the bridge up! Can you believe that?!"  
Paratroopa made a few low barks.  
"Oh..." Bowser Jr replied. "You don't wanna talk about that?"  
Paratroopa shook his head.  
"Hmm... Alright, fine. What about the first accident, then? You know, the one with Yoshi and Diddy? That one was pretty crazy, eh?"

Paratroopa looked from side to side, his expression kind of uneasy. It was clear that he didn't want to talk about that accident either. Strangely enough, his reaction after being reminded of this one was far different than the other. Bowser Jr didn't even notice, though.  
"It's weird, cuz their kart's wheel broke off. I've done a bit of auto work with my dad before, and I always thought these karts we ride were built like tanks! You know, like, totally unbreakable! You're the head automechanic, right? And Koopa was, too? Didn't you check to see if the wheel was on right?"

Paratroopa quickly shook his head and barked in a rather harsh manner.  
"Whoa, easy there! I didn't say that!"  
Koopa uttered a disgusted sound.  
"Look, all I'm saying is that the wheel falling off the Turbo Yoshi doesn't seem like just an accident. I was talking to my dad about it, and he agreed with me. Someone did that on purpose to hurt Yoshi and Diddy..."  
Paratroopa barked a quick reply.  
"OK, OK! You've already told me, like, a thousand times that you didn't do it! I believe you, man! Settle down!"

Bowser Jr braked for yet another group of flashing Thwomps and waited until it was safe to pass under. He was almost done with one lap.  
Paratroopa put his hand to his chin and barked a question.  
"Yeah... that whole 'Spiny Shell blowing up Mushroom Bridge' thing is weird, too. Now THAT one was definitely no accident..."  
Paratroopa barked accusingly.  
"Hey! I already told you, my dad had nothing to do with it! He just happened to get that Spiny Shell from the Item Roulette thingy, so just be quiet! It's not his fault!"  
Parakarry made another sneer.  
"Hey, how come I'm not allowed to accuse you of messing with the Turbo Yoshi's tires, but you can accuse my dad of blowing up the bridge?! That's not fair!"  
Paratroopa thought about that for a second, then realized Bowser Jr was making a good point. He barked a quick apology.  
"Thanks. I still wonder, though...That Spiny Shell... It was in the Item Roulette, yeah? Someone must've stashed it in the item supply for that race so that someone would blow up! Another attempted murder, maybe?"

Paratroopa scratched his chin and barked a thought out loud.  
"Hmm... Yeah. It was going after Luigi and Daisy... Think that's who the target of the killer was?"  
Paratroopa shook his head and barked a rebuttal.  
"Oh, that's true. That Spiny Shell could've been gotten by anyone at anytime. ANYONE could've been in first place when that Spiny Shell was obtained. Does that mean the killer didn't really care who got blown up?"

Paratroopa shrugged. Thinking back to the Turbo Yoshi accident, he barked a few times.  
"Hey yeah... Maybe the one who set up the Turbo Yoshi and the Spiny Shell Bomb are the same guy!"  
Paratroopa then barked a comment.  
"Hmm... good point. The first accident seemed set up so that Yoshi and Diddy only would get killed, but the second one was set up so that it didn't really matter who would get killed. That's weird... Unless maybe the killer screwed with the Turbo Yoshi's tires before anyone even picked their kart for the race. In that case, both accidents were set up so that it didn't matter who would get killed. But that's even weirder... Who would just kill like that for no reason?"  
Paratroopa didn't believe that the murderer had no reason for doing what he/she was doing, though it did strike him as odd that they supposedly had no idea of who was going to fall into their wicked designs. Murderers usually have a target, don't they...?

Nonetheless, Paratroopa barked a good bit of insight.  
"Hmm... That's true, huh? Whoever's setting up these accidents is obviously in the Mario Kart team. Does that mean that one of the people we race with is the killer?"  
Paratroopa shrugged, but agreed it was very possible.  
"Damn... Well, whoever it is, I'm gonna find 'em and RIP THEIR BALLS OFF!!"  
Paratroopa laughed and barked something.  
"Umm... right. If it's a guy."

Bowser Jr had finally finished his one lap and braked at the finish line. "Hmm... the course layout's pretty standard. Those shiny Thwomps might cause some trouble though..."  
Bowser Jr then turned around to look at Paratroopa. "Ya know, I just thought of something. That Spiny Shell was going after Luigi and Daisy, but in the end, it was Koopa that had to die..."  
Paratroopa looked away out into the starry night again. He made a low bark.  
"I know. It IS unfair. Stupid killer person... It's not like Koopa did anything to deserve that, ya know?"

Paratroopa just looked at Bowser Jr with a serious face. He looked so depressed, but it seemed to Bowser Jr that Koopa's death wasn't the only thing saddening him at the moment...

Paratroopa then closed his eyes and shook his head. He pointed down the road and made a somewhat enthusiastic bark.  
"You wanna go for a full-speed lap around SNES Rainbow Road now?"  
Paratroopa nodded.  
"Yeah, you're right. We DID come up here to practice for the Rainbow World Cup. One slow lap ain't gonna help us prepare! We gotta master 'em ALL!!" He was about to stomp on the accelerator, but then stopped himself.  
All this talk about car accidents and people dying made him feel really uneasy. If the killer truly didn't care about who his/her victims were, was it possible that they were watching Bowser Jr and Paratroopa at that moment? Could they have already set up an elaborate death trap on SNES Rainbow Road that might hurt or kill the first unlucky driver to speed right into it? The thought gave him chills.  
He looked up at Paratroopa, who seemed to be more or less thinking the same thing...

Bowser Jr had his foot on the pedal, not sure whether to go nuts and floor it or take it slow and easy again. Not knowing what to do, he looked up at Paratroopa.  
"Yo Paratroopa? Sure you wanna go for a time trial? Or just do another practice lap?"  
Paratroopa was still a little uneasy about driving fast, considering what they had just been discussing. He barked a quick question.  
Bowser Jr looked around. "Hmm... That's a good question. I don't see him anywhere... But hey, I told Toad we were coming up here to practice. I don''t see why Toad would forget to send him up here for us. This track IS about 3 miles above the Earth..."  
Paratroopa thought of something and barked it out.  
"That's true... Lakitu could've saved Peach and Koopa from Mushroom Bridge while it was collapsing, couldn't he? I wonder where he was when it happened? I mean, he was there at the beginning of the race when he did the signal light, but I didn't see him after that..."  
Paratroopa shrugged. He had no idea.  
Bowser Jr then turned to look up at Paratroopa. "Ya know, you can fly... YOU could've flown over and saved Koopa."  
Paratroopa stared down at Bowser Jr with a cold stare and barked an angry-sounding rant. Bowser Jr was taken aback.  
"OK! OK! Chill man! Chill! I know, I know... You're an automechanic, not a rescue worker. And yes, I know King Boo and Petey can fly too, and that all of you stayed back on the other side of the bridge to set up the roadblock and all that junk. I didn't mean to sound accusing. Really..."  
Paratroopa just uttered a groan and drooped his head.  
"Though, I gotta wonder... King Boo can't die. He's already dead! He'd have had nothing to lose if he'd just jumped in to save Koopa. Why didn't he-?"  
Paratroopa barked loudly, shook his head, and motioned for Bowser Jr to start driving. Bowser Jr could tell Paratroopa was kind of upset and did just that.

Bowser Jr drove slowly and steadily. A good 10 mph or so faster than last time, but still on the lookout for any devious traps that their 'killer' might have set up. Bowser Jr kept an eye out for a while until he was about halfway done with this lap. Feeling a wee bit more confident, he began to talk again.  
"Ya know, I was just thinking back to Diddy's funeral..."

Paratroopa didn't make any moves to try and shut Bowser Jr up, so he continued. "Mario got up on the podium and was gonna start saying something about how the accident at Wario Colosseum wasn't really an accident... Do you remember?"  
Paratroopa made a low bark. Despite the fact that his partner had died during the Mushroom Bridge catastrophe, it seemed to Bowser Jr that the Wario Colosseum accident was a touchier subject for him. It struck Bowser Jr as odd, but he continued nonetheless. "Yeah, well... I remember Mario was gonna talk, but then Toad stopped him and told everyone to go away. My dad and I thought it was pretty weird... Don't you think so, too?"  
Paratroopa shrugged and said nothing.  
"Yeah. Toad's been acting funny lately. Mario says its because he's just busy prepping for the Rainbow World Cup... plus, these two crazy ass accidents have created a lot of work for him. Of course, my dad and I know better than to believe what Mario says! But still... I kinda wanna talk to Toad one day and just see what's up, ya know?"  
Paratroopa nodded in agreement, but again said nothing.

"Oh, and what about that Mr V guy?" Bowser Jr asked, a hint of nervous enthusiasm in his voice. "He's a weird one, eh?"  
Paratroopa barked as though saying "Hellz yeah..."  
Bowser Jr laughed, but then felt himself grow a wee bit tense. "Yeah... Remember last night when we were all drinking and stuff? Mr V's voice was like, coming out of nowhere? I swear to God, I think that guy's a ghost or something."  
Paratroopa laughed and barked a reply. He seemed a little more sociable now that they were off the subject of the Wario Colosseum accident.  
Bowser Jr nodded with a chuckle as he braked for a group of shiny Thwomps while waiting to drive through an opening. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to see if that legend is true... While you're talking to him on the phone, open his office door and look in. Then you see what he truly is. But then he kills you, right?"  
Paratroopa shrugged, but was feeling curious about that himself.  
"Well, whoever the hell that guy is, he's without a doubt involved in this whole accident thing. I can tell you that!"  
Paratroopa nodded with a frown, reminded of the fact that his partner had been killed by one of those accidents only earlier that day...

Bowser Jr stopped at the finish line. Having completed a second slow practice lap, he was confident that this course was yet untouched by the killer's designs. However, it still bothered him that Lakitu was nowhere to be seen...  
Bowser Jr looked off the edge of the road. It was so dark he couldn't even see the Earth below. Only stars shining all around. He imagined that if he fell, it would be forever...  
Bowser Jr seriously needed to know if Lakitu was really there. Toad had said he would send Lakitu up there for them... Hadn't he? He couldn't remember. But even if he hadn't, come on - it's Lakitu! Mr Dependable! Well, he hadn't been so dependable when Mushroom Bridge was collapsing... Aye, so much going on...

Bowser Jr almost considered just driving right off the edge and seeing if Lakitu would come pick them up. It may have seemed like a crazy idea, but in truth, it was no more crazy than flooring it and going for a high speed time trial lap, which he now felt more than ready to do. He was bound to fall off at least once, seeing as he'd only done two slow practice laps on this particular course.

Bowser Jr figured by now, it was clear he was going to fall off the track no matter what he did. Was it worth the risk? Was it worth it to see if Lakitu would come to their rescue? Alternatively, he could've just called for the Cheep Cheep Blimp to come pick them up right then, but Bowser Jr was still curious...

Bowser Jr looked up at Paratroopa. "Hey pal, whaddya think? A, B, or C?"  
Paratroopa thought for a second, then barked his answer.  
Bowser Jr was thoroughly surprised. "Really? You choose A? You wanna drive off the edge and see if Lakitu'll come and get us?"  
Paratroopa nodded. Bowser Jr nodded accordingly and got ready to stomp on the gas, but suddenly stopped.  
"Ya know, Paratroopa... when you think about it, we're really taking a big risk here. Is it really worth it if it'll only mean we'll have a shot at mastering this course?"  
Paratroopa didn't have to think long before simply nodding. He looked out into the starry sky again.

Koopa... Wherever he was, Paratroopa was just glad he'd now endured the sweet embrace of death. Paratroopa actually kind of hoped Lakitu didn't come to save them. If he didn't, Paratroopa would just let his wings relax and plummet all the way down to Earth. Wherever Koopa was now, Paratroopa hoped to go there one day soon as well, and escape the hellhole that Double Dash had become...

Bowser Jr gritted his teeth, gripped the wheel, rose his foot, and stomped on the gas. The Parade Kart sped forward at full speed.  
Bowser Jr then took a sharp left...  
And the kart skidded through a tight turn...  
And before they knew it, the Rainbow ground had all but left them!

The Trophy Kart was launched out into space. A feeling of weightlessness overcame the two riders. For some reason, this was way cooler than any of the other 20 bazillion times either one had driven off any course.  
Bowser Jr threw his arms up. "BOOOYAAAHAHAHA!!" he exclaimed.  
Paratroopa just let his wings go slack and stared out into the starlit sky. A feeling of fear and anxiety in his chest...

The Kart and its riders fell for a long time...  
Until Bowser Jr finally looked over the edge at the Earth below. He could see the ground now. They were falling right above Mario Circuit, sort of near Peach's Castle, where he remember Diddy was buried.  
It then suddenly occurred to him...  
Lakitu hadn't come to rescue them.  
They were falling and falling... but their usual salvation was nowhere to be found. Bowser Jr looked around the night sky in worry, but saw no Lakitu! Where was he?!

Bowser Jr suddenly started to feel very scared, a feeling of impending doom filling up in his gut like a balloon. Terrified, he turned to Paratroopa. "Paratroopa!!" he shouted over the rushing upwind, "Where's Lakitu!? Do you see him anywhere?!"  
Paratroopa didn't move. He looked at Bowser Jr, evidently acknowledging what he had said, but then merely continued to stare up at the stars. The look on his face... It almost looked like he was at peace. What the hell?! Did he not realize they were seconds from death?!  
"Paratroopa!? Come on, man!! Start flying or something! Save us!!"  
But Paratroopa didn't move. It was almost like he was looking forward to the moment they crashed on the ground...

Bowser Jr was now getting frantic. The dot below that was Peach's Castle was growing bigger by the second. In a fit of panic, Bowser Jr began to claw at the tether around his wrist. Deep down, he knew he'd die whether he was attached to the Kart or not, but he couldn't think straight. He just felt trapped - and his only possible savior was sitting there behind him like a stone! What was he gonna do!?  
By this point, they were only a couple hundred feet from impact. Bowser Jr was now crying hysterically. As he clawed relentlessly at his tether, he began to cry out. "HEEELP!! DADDY!! SOMEBODY!! HELP UUUS!!"  
He quickly turned around and looked at Paratroopa with pleading eyes. "Paratroopa! PLEASE do something!!"

Paratroopa looked at Bowser Jr, his expression blank.  
But not soon after, his eyes suddenly became softened with sadness... He returned Bowser Jr's frightened glare, and realization came flowing through him.  
As much as Paratroopa may have been willing to die, Bowser Jr was not. Paratroopa knew that, and even though Bowser Jr was the son of Bowser, the King of Evil, he was still just a kid. An innocent kid that didn't deserve to die.  
Paratroopa realized his death would come at the cost of another's life. A life that didn't want to be taken, nor deserved to be...

In that instant, Paratroopa's face became tense. He grabbed the tether around his wrist and pulled it loose.  
He then held out his hand towards Bowser Jr.  
Bowser Jr smiled wider than his own father had probably ever seen. Feeling a wave of hope, he was able to undo his tether. He then grabbed Paratroopa's outstretched hands with both of his own.  
Paratroopa began to flap his wings...  
And almost majestically, he and Bowser Jr were lifted right out of their seats.  
The two hovered in one spot and watched as the Parade Kart fell the mere remaining fifty feet or so onto the concrete road of Mario Circuit. It landed with a loud _SMASH!_ and sent chunks of gold metal flying in all directions. They both knew it - had they been sitting in that vehicle when it landed, they'd have both been dead in an instant.

Still grasping Paratroopa's hands, Bowser Jr had to take a moment to breathe after that terrifying experience. After several seconds, he opened his eyes and looked around. He found they were still hovering in the same spot. Only the sound of Paratroopa's flapping wings filled the silent, night air.  
Bowser Jr looked up. He saw Paratroopa staring out into the starry night, just as he'd been doing during the perilous plunge before he'd saved them. He wondered what Paratroopa saw when he looked up at those stars... Was there something he hoped to see?

Nonetheless, Bowser Jr tugged Paratroopa's arm to get his attention. Paratroopa looked down at him.  
"Thanks Paratroopa..." was all Bowser Jr managed to say.  
Paratroopa looked down at the wrecked vehicle below them, back up into the sky, and let out a sigh. He then looked back down at Bowser Jr with a faint smile. He barked, as though saying "You're welcome."

Without another word, Paratroopa began to fly towards the Resting Quarters, hoping to get there before Lights Out. He and Bowser Jr had had enough excitement that day...

* * *

Mario was tucking Baby Mario into bed. Baby Mario had been crying a lot ever since he saw his mother get hurt during the collapse of the Mushroom Bridge. His crying had tired him out a lot, and Mario was tucking him in like any good father.  
"Don't you worry about a thing," Mario told his son, "Mommy's not hurt too bad. She just hurt her leg. Just a little boo-boo. She'll be OK soon."  
Baby Mario cooed as though he understood.  
Mario then leaned in a little closer. "This is just between you and me, but it's been forever since she and I have made love. I was thinkin' about doing it tonight but... Damn, I guess not, huh?"

Baby Mario laughed. Mario laughed too.  
"Alright, I guess you didn't need to hear that... Whatever, go to bed now, little man. See you in the morning."  
Baby Mario nodded and got ready to drift off to sleep.  
Mario turned around and began to walk over to his own bed. As he did, he looked down. "Ugh... I was all prepped for it, too. Guess I'll just have to stroke meh monkey tonight..." he muttered to himself.  
Once he did, he heard Baby Mario laugh again.

Mario sat down on his bed. A second later, a very depressed-looking Toadette sat down next to him. "Hi Mario," she said.

Mario looked over at her. "Hey Toadette. Something wrong?"  
Toadette looked up at him as though asking why the hell he was asking that. Of course, he already knew more or less what was wrong.  
"Another accident..." she said quietly. "Another racer... dead. Can you believe it?"  
Mario shook his head. "No... I thought Diddy's death was a huge deal, but I never thought I'd see Mushroom Bridge blow up right in front of me..."

Toadette gave Mario a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about Peach."  
Mario looked as though he really had to try hard to force his emotions down when she said that. "Thanks... I'm just grateful she didn't die. I feel terrible about Koopa, though. I could've saved him... If only I'd acted a second sooner. He was probably only about twenty feet away. I was so close to saving him..." He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I can't imagine how Paratroopa must feel."  
"Don't worry. I'm sure he'd understand if you just told him you tried. He can't possibly blame you for that."  
"Yeah, that's true..." Mario moaned, though he didn't lift his head.

Toadette had to think hard about whether or not she should ask her next question. Mario was already upset enough as it was, it seemed. However, deep in her gut, she knew she had to.  
"Hey Mario? You think maybe... that explosion was another... not so accidental accident?"  
Mario looked up at her, his face cold as stone. "I know it was."  
Toadette felt her stomach creep up her throat. "...You think the same person who set up Yoshi and Diddy's accident is responsible?"  
"I would imagine," Mario thought aloud.  
"Well, lemme think... Bowser claims to have gotten that particular Spiny Shell from the Item Roulette, that Spiny Shell that he said had something red on the bottom?"  
"Yeah," Mario remembered. "I saw something red on the bottom of the Spiny Shell when it flew over me and Waluigi."  
"...A bomb?"  
Mario looked at her. "I think most of us have figured THAT out by now..."  
Toadette rolled her eyes. "Ugh, well of course! I'm just thinking, that Spiny Shell must've been smuggled into the Item Supply for that race so that someone would end up using it, and thus, someone would end up getting blown up!"

Mario scratched his chin. "So now this person wants to kill Luigi and Daisy..."  
"Yeah..." Toadette moaned, "But looks like they ended up getting Peach and Koopa instead..."  
"I don't get it, though," reasoned Mario, "Anyone could've been in 1st place when Bowser chucked that shell. How would the perpetrator know who it would hit Luigi and Daisy?"  
Toadette thought that was a good point. "Well, let's try and figure out 'who' before we get to the 'why'. WHO could it be? WHO has the authority to supply items for races?"  
"Who has the authority?" Mario asked. "That would be Waluigi. He's the Items Commissioner. Or Toad. Or Mr V. They're the President and Vice President, so... yeah. But more than just authority, who has the _ability_ to stash items into the race's item supply? Anyone."  
"But wouldn't it make more sense if someone authorized to stash items did it?"

"Well," Mario argued, "Koopa and Paratroopa were the only ones 'authorized' to fix and repair vehicles, but that didn't stop the killer from tampering with the Turbo Yoshi's wheels, did it?"  
Toadette nodded. Again, Mario had a good point.  
"Besides," Mario continued, "If you're trying to put the blame on Waluigi, I wouldn't bother. Just before we reached Mushroom Bridge, our kart's engine suddenly died. We were forced to run the rest of the race..."  
"Were you two in 1st place when that happened? Ahead of Luigi and Daisy?" Toadette asked.  
"Yeah. Makes me think maybe the killer somehow knew that the Spiny Shell would target us, so he somehow remotely stalled our kart and allowed Luigi and Daisy to pass us. That way, when Bowser threw the Spiny Shell, it targeted them, and not us."  
"Hmm..." thought Toadette, "That's a pretty far-fetched theory. But... It still doesn't really help us figure out who the killer might be..."

Mario took a deep sigh and looked Toadette in the eyes. "You talked about this to anyone else?"  
Toadette shook her head.  
"Really? Not even your brother?"  
"No..." she answered.  
"So... Why me, then?"  
Toadette looked down at the ground. "Cuz you're the only one I really trust."

Her words seem to sink into Mario's mind like water in a sponge. Had she just said that she only trusted him out of everyone there? Had... she just said that she didn't even completely trust her own brother?

At that moment, the door to the Resting Quarters opened, and Toad walked. He looked just as crestfallen as he had three nights ago after Diddy's funeral.  
"Everyone, I have some announcements to make... The tragedy that happened today is as terrible as it was unexpected. Let us pray for Peach's well-being, and let us pray that Koopa is in peace wherever he has gone..."  
"The bottom of a whirlpool? Not too peaceful down there!" Wario cracked. He and Petey high-fived.  
"Shut up, Fat Boy!" Toad shouted. "Now then, since we are short two members yet again, we've made some team alterations. Daisy and Birdo will now be an official team, as will DK and Paratroopa. Teams will remain this way even into the Rainbow World Cup, which I hope you all remember is coming in about 5 days now..."

"Umm... Toad?" Luigi asked, "Are you sure it's a real good idea to put DK and Paratroopa on the same team? I mean, they've both..."  
"That's enough," Toad silenced.

Luigi merely nodded and sulked back down again.

"Right then, moving on. We did have a race scheduled for tomorrow on DK Mountain, but considering what has just happened, I see fit to let you all have another day off to just reflect."  
There was a small celebration amongst the not-so-caring ones of the group.  
"However!" Toad continued, "We still are required to do two more races before the Rainbow World Cup begins, so the next two days will be reserved for the races on DK Mountain and Daisy Cruiser, respectively, regardless of what happens on or off the racetrack. That way, the two days proceeding the Rainbow World Cup will be reserved for preparation of that very event. I hope that's clear to everyone."

Toad then checked his papers real quick. "And speaking of the explosion earlier today, if you please, donate a few extra dollars towards the funds attempting to rebuild Mushroom Bridge. Though it will no longer be made of materials dating back to the 18th century, which is what gave it much of its history, it's the symbolism that counts, right?"  
"PSSH!" Bowser snarled. "Who the hell cares?! It's just a stupid bridge!!"  
Toad looked at Bowser with an annoyed face. "Bowser... Where's your son?"  
Bowser raised an eyebrow. "You sent him and Paratroopa up to practice on SNES Rainbow Road for the Rainbow World Cup! Don't you remember? Or are you totally braindead?"  
"Oh, that's right..." Toad moaned, rubbing his head. "Geez, I didn't even check the clock before I sent 'em off. Lights Out is in, like... right now. Well, I'll cut them some slack, on account of it being my own mistake. Be sure to let 'em in when they come back, alright? Good night, guys..."  
Before walking out, he whispered to himself,_ "And God help us all..."  
_With that, he switched off the light, casting the Resting Quarters in darkness. Paratroopa and Bowser Jr had still yet to return...

Toad's footsteps faded into nothingness as he walked away from the Resting Quarters. The Resting Quarters lay in silent darkness for several seconds. Until...  
"COAST IS CLEAR!!"

A flashlight beam pierced the blackness and shot across the room. As everyone suspected, it was from Bowser's bed. "Alright fellas, come on over to Bowser's Bar! Open 'til I feel like goin' to sleep!"  
The immediate shuffling of feet was heard in the dark. That night, everyone had gathered around Bowser's bed except for the babies and Luigi. They all took their preferred beverages out of Bowser's large chest and began to drink merrily.

Bowser used his flashlight to observe the crowd around him. "Hey, where's Koopa? He said he was gonna join us tonight!"  
"He's DEAD, you moron!" Daisy shouted. "The least you could do is acknowledge that!"  
"Hey, gimme a break!" Bowser grumbled. "I care that he's dead! Really! Little guy was one of my best cohorts! Always washed my socks and fed my fish and stuff... Yessir, once I die and go to Heaven, I'll be sure to let him know I respected him."  
"Too bad you're not going to Heaven," Mario said under his breath.  
"WHAT?! Why you-!! Hm, wait... Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey King Boo, when you finally decide to just stop being a ghost and cross over, let him know, OK?"  
King Boo merely chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry Bowser, but I think I'm headed down south myself..."  
"Down south?" Bowser asked, confused. "Why would you go to Antarctica when you cross over?"

King Boo just cackled again and resumed lapping up his spiced rum with his big tongue.

Suddenly, the sound of someone approaching the door was heard outside. Everyone suddenly became scared. Was it Toad? What if he caught them drinking after Lights Out?! Bowser threw up his arms in a panic. "HIDE THE HOOCH!!" he yelled.  
Suddenly, the door flew open...  
And in ran Bowser Jr and Paratroopa.

Bowser shined his flashlight on the two just to make sure who they were. When he saw his smiled, he smiled a stupid grin. "Jr!"  
Bowser Jr smiled too. "Papa!!" He ran up and jumped up onto the bed next to his dad.  
"Where the heck were you two?" asked Daisy.  
"...We were just practicing racing on SNES Rainbow Road," Bowser Jr answered.  
Paratroopa barked and nodded. He flew up to the chest and yanked out a bottle of whisky which he began to chug down.  
"Damn, look at that bastard go!" exclaimed Wario. "Well, I guess I understand, considerin' you just lost your partner... How ya feelin'?"  
Paratroopa didn't answer, and merely continued to chug down his whisky.

"So," Mario said, "DK, you decided to join us today. How are you?"  
DK swallowed his mouthful of ginger beer and sighed. "DK feel fine now. I still sad about Diddy, but he gone to a happy place. Also, this funny drink make DK feel lots more better. It make DK head feel like balloon. I like..."  
"Well, that's good to hear," Mario said. "How about you, Birdo? You doin' OK too?"  
Birdo made some weird noises out of her hole.  
"Oh... Umm, OK. I don't think the people reading the story really needed to hear that... o.0"

"Hey Luigi!" Waluigi called out, "You gonna join us?!"  
"Shut up!" Luigi called from his bed. "I don't feel like it tonight..."  
"You NEVER feel like it!" Daisy complained. "C'mon Luigi! Let loose and have a little fun!"  
"I prefer to have my fun during the day, thanks," Luigi answered. "Now leave me alone. I wanna go to sleep."  
"Ugh... fine," Daisy moaned. She turned to Mario. "Geez, doesn't it ever bother you that your brother _never_ breaks any rules?"  
"Meh, sometimes," Mario replied. "You gotta respect him for that, though, to some degree."  
"Oh, I know..." Daisy said, "But sometimes I think he just needs to live a little..."

"Oh, hey guys!" Bowser announced, shining his flashlight on his cell phone. "You know what we should do? Let's do some crank calls!"  
Everyone thought that would be a fun idea and immediately gathered around.  
"Anyone know any good ones?" Wario asked. "Petey?"  
Petey just shrugged and ate a bottle of Corona.  
"Oh, I think I've got a good one!" Toadette exclaimed.  
Everyone was surprised that cute little Toadette was gonna be the first crank caller for the night, but Bowser shrugged and handed her the phone anyway. "Go for it, girly!" he said.

Toadette took the phone and dialed a number. She held the receiver to her ear and waited...

_"Thank you for calling Toad Town Pizzeria. Will this be for delivery or pick up?"_  
"Umm, yeah... I just have a question," Toadette said, putting the phone on speakerphone, "Do you have any 1-inch pizzas?"  
_"...I'm sorry. You asked if we have a 1-inch pizza?"_  
"Yes. You know, like a bite-size one, or something."  
_"Umm... I don't think we-"_  
"Oh, and can I just rent it?"  
_"You wanna... RENT a 1-inch pizza?"_  
"Yes, please."  
_"Umm... Sorry miss, we don't do either of those..."_  
"Are you kidding?! Ugh, what kind of pizza place ARE you?!"  
And with that, Toadette hung up. Everyone burst into laughter.

Wario then reached for the phone and snatched it away from Toadette. "Alright, I got one. Stand back and watch the master, everyone!" He dialed a number, then waited for the recipient to answer...

_"Hello?"_  
"Uh... yeah, umm..." Wario stammered. "Y-you have not just won 723 explosive pies! Congratulations!"  
_"..." CLICK_

Everyone started laughing again, but more at Wario than with him.

Daisy grabbed the phone next. "Amateur," she mocked, "Lemme show you how it's done!" She dialed her number and put the receiver to her ear...

_"Hello! This is Moe of Moe's Bar. How can I help ya?"_  
"Um, listen..." Daisy began, "I'm looking for someone that may be there. First name Hugh, last name Jass."  
_"OK, one sec... HEY GUYS! WE GOT A HUGH JASS IN HERE?! HUGH JASS!!"_  
Wild laughter was heard from both ends of the phone line.  
_"Listen to me, ya little puke! One of these days I'm gonna find ya and carve my name in your back with an ice pick!"_  
"Yeah, just try it!" Daisy responded, trying to hold in her laughter, "We're pretty far from Springfield!" And with that, she hung up. The room went wild with laughs, hoots, and hollers.

Daisy then held the phone out to Mario. "Wanna give it a go?"  
"Yeah!" Bowser shouted, "Let's see the great and honorable Super Mario do a crank call!"  
Mario hesitated for a second, but after everyone in the room continually urged him to take the phone, he finally did. "Hmmm..." he thought, "What's a good gag?"  
When he finally got a good one, he dialed a random number and listened for the ring tone.  
Finally, someone answered...

_"__Hello?__"_

"Hello," Mario said in a deep, feminine voice, "Do you have a large variety of lipsthtick? I'd like a thtick of caramel-flavored lipthtick that'll make my men go **'Ooghh!!' **You know what I mean, honey?"  
Everyone had to cover their mouths to block the wave of laughter that was trying to escape their mouths. Mario's charade was golden!  
There was no answer on the other line for a long time.  
Until...  
_"__Hello Mario...__"_

Everyone's smiled faded. The happy feeling in the room immediately died.  
That voice... that cold, terrifying voice...

Despite his tinge of nervousness, Mario had to force himself to continue the prank. "Yeah, thith is Nordstormth, right? I was just wondering if you have a wide variety of lipthtick. I'd like caramel flavor if you have it tho I can thmother it all over my fathe!"  
_"__I'm afraid I don't have any caramel-flavored lipstick handy at the moment, but how about I direct you to a store that does...?__"_

Everyone in the room suddenly felt rather relieved. Looks like it was just a store clerk who happened to recognize Mario's famous voice despite his charade. Mario was feeling a little more courageous now as well. "Oh, thankth honey! I'd appreciate that THO much!"  
_"__Hmhm... I bet you would. Try dialing 555-8365.__"_  
"OK! Thankth a lot! I'll be sure to give you a little kith when I get the chanthe!"  
_"__You're welcome Mario. Good-bye...__"_

Mario then hung up. He looked around the room at everyone. He was still a little confused, but no one else seemed to be. In fact, they all began pestering him to dial the number that was given.  
"C'mon!" Daisy urged, "Now you have an accessory store to use that crank call on!"  
Mario had to think about it for a few seconds, but he eventually decided to go for it. Memorizing the number, he quickly punched it in and waited. He then heard the sound of someone picking up on the other line. Mario got prepped for another funny crank call session...

_"__Hello Mario...__"_

Everyone in the room jumped when the same greeting they'd heard seconds before sounded through the phone's speaker.

"_Looks like you're not the only one who can play tricks around here, doesn't it Mario?__"_

Mario looked around in confusion. Everyone around was just as clueless as he. He could tell by looking at their flashlight-lit faces. He spoke into the receiver. "Who is this?"  
_"__You recognize my voice, don't you Mario...? I'm the man you were just speaking to__!"_  
"That was a different number," Mario replied, absoluteness in his voice. "I swear..."  
_"__I'm not calling you a liar, Mario. I know that was a different number...__"_  
"How many different telephones do you have?" Mario asked, beginning to feel nervous.

"_Just the one on my desk, that I happen to be speaking into right now.__"_  
Mario gulped. _"_Then... how did you...?"  
_"__How did you reach me via two different numbers? Like I said, I can play tricks too...__"_

Mario felt himself beginning to sweat. Without waiting to hear anymore, promptly hung up. Nobody blamed him for doing so. The speakerphone conversation they'd heard was certainly strange.

"That was Mr V, wasn't it...?" Bowser Jr asked.  
"I think so," Bowser replied, pulling his son close. "I recognize that voice. Remember we heard him talking to us last night?"  
"Yeah," Toadette recalled. She hadn't been drinking and having fun with everyone the previous night, but she had heard Mr V's haunting voice as well. "I think we're done with prank phone calls for the night, Mario..."  
Mario nodded, but then proceeded to punch in another number. "I'm gonna call Toad and let him know about Mr V's really weird behavior. Whatever he's doing as Vice President, it can't be good for the Double Dash Team..."

"NO!" Wario protested. "Then Toad'll know we're up after Lights Out-!!"  
But too late. Mario had already entered the number to Toad's office and was waiting for a reply...

_"__Hello?__"_  
"H-hello, Toad! Listen to me! I know it's a bad time, but we need to talk to you about-"  
_"__Oh, Mario! How nice of you to call back. Is something the matter?__"_

Mario's mouth dropped open in disbelief, as did everyone else's. He cursed to himself before putting the receiver back to his ear. "Dude, who the HELL are you?!"  
_"__Didn't Bowser Jr just deduce my identity? I must say Mario, you can put on a pretty funny crank call. I almost considered laughing myself... As do you, Toadette and Daisy. Unlike Wario. Pathetic...__"_  
Mario couldn't stop shaking his head. His brain just didn't want to believe what his ears were hearing. "How did you-? How... Why... What are you doing in Toad's office?!"  
_"__Pardon me? I would never intrude into President Toad's office as he slept. I'm fine in my own office where I am right now, thank you.__"_  
"But... But I dialed the number for Toad's office! I know I did! I don't even KNOW the number for YOURS! How did I end up reaching you?!"  
_"__I never said you dialed the number incorrectly, Mario. Ho, the mystery of it all...!__"_

Mario gritted his teeth and growled in frustration and fear. Every time Mario heard this man speak, it felt like a drill was penetrating into the very depths of his sane mind. Completely unable to listen anymore, Mario shut the phone off and threw it on the bed.

Mario had to sit and just breathe for a long time. He felt he'd been sweating, so he wiped his brow and merely continued to sit and breathe. All the while, his heart thumped in his ears like a bass drum. As hard as he tried to relax, his heart just would not slow down.  
Everyone else on and around the bed was utterly dumbfounded and, quite frankly, terrified. Bowser slowly shined his flashlight beam on everyone's face to see, and sure enough, all he saw were looks of confusion and fright.  
However, after a while, Bowser promptly shut off his flashlight, thereby signalling that the party was over and it was time for them to go to bed. The nightmare was over...

_"__How dare you hang up on me, Mario.__"_

Everyone literally screamed when the deep, ghastly voice once again protruded from the phone's speaker at full volume.  
And the phone was still shut off!

In a pit of absolute madness, Mario let out an animal-like cry. One might've even said he went all but insane for that short fragment of time. He grabbed the phone in the darkness and with all his might, heaved it across the room. Amongst the terrified screams, everyone heard the sound of the phone shattering against the wall and raining onto the cement floor in pieces.

This was more than enough for any of them. In the darkness, they all scrambled for their beds and immediately dove under the covers.  
However, it was clear that this was going to be a rather restless night for all of them...


	5. Day 4

NOTE: This chapter (and a few later ones) has a fair amount of Spanish dialogue. If you don't speak Spanish, don't worry - the main idea of what is said in Spanish will always come across in English sooner or later. That, and you can always use an online translator if you're really curious... .

* * *

**Day 4**

**_4 Days Remain..._**

**_--_**

Petey Pirahna woke up early the next morning. The rising sun shone in through the window and illuminated the room in an odd, almost eerie shade of orange and grey. Stretching his leaves, he sat up and looked around. No one was awake yet. This wasn't uncommon. For one reason or another, he was always the first one up. He hopped out of his bed, careful not to disturb his fellow racers that were all still sleeping. He walked over to his locker and opened it. He then reached for his other pair of polka-dotted shorts.  
However, as he did, a piece of paper fell from the pocket and onto the floor. Curious, Petey picked it up with his leafy arm. He looked around to make sure everyone was still asleep, then looked at the paper.  
It was a note:

--

_Be in the Mess Hall at 12 pm today. Keep quiet until then._

_--_

That's all there was. Even though Petey didn't have eyes, he was still somehow able to read it and understood what it said. But... Who had left the note for him? Whoever left it obviously didn't want Petey to know... And, why did they want to see Petey? What was this all about? Odd...  
Petey simply shrugged, then changed into his spare pants and slipped the note in his pocket. He would make it a priority to be at the Mess Hall at 12 pm, and he would tell no one until then...

It was 12 pm. Petey flew above and over many a racetrack to reach the Mess Hall located next to the DDG. He promptly landed near the front door and walked in. Amidst the many lunch tables, there was no one to be found. All the lights were off too, the building only being illuminated by a few large windows. What the heck? Wasn't he supposed to meet someone here?

Petey took out the note again and looked at it. Yup, 12 pm at the Mess Hall. And he hadn't said a word to anyone about it. Hmm...  
Petey then happened to look on the floor and saw an arrow made of masking tape. He knew that hadn't been there before, so whoever made it did so quite recently. The person who wanted to meet with him, perhaps? He thought so. He followed the arrow with his, err... eyes, and saw it led to another. He spotted four arrows that went in a line. That line was leading to a hallway that he knew had always been there, yet had never been down before. Curious now, Petey began to waddle his way along the path of arrows taped to the floor.

As Petey followed the arrows, he found himself walking down a curving corridor that grew darker and darker as he walked. It soon became so dark that he could barely see the arrows on the ground. However, before it became too dark, he saw the final arrow curving towards the wall and pointing at a door. Petey strained to see what was written on it:

**Employees Only****  
**

Ignoring that, Petey looked at a hand-written memo that had been taped to the door below that:

_Close the door behind you._

Figuring the one who wrote this note was likely the one who wanted to meet him there, Petey ignored the "Employees Only" sign and opened the door. Once he did, he found himself in a rather large room, accompanied by several armchairs and illuminated only by a single, dim ceiling lamp.  
But Petey was very surprised to see all of his friends were in the room as well! Mario, Luigi, Daisy, Birdo, Toadette, Paratroopa, DK, Bowser, Bowser Jr, Wario and Waluigi were all sitting around the room, as though waiting for him! Obviously, the ones who were hospitalized (Yoshi and Peach) weren't present. The babies weren't there either, which made some sense. The two that were conspicuously absent, though, were Toad and, even more strangely, King Boo. However, Petey was too curious about what was already happening in there. He stepped in and, following the sign's orders, closed the door behind him.

"Hey Petey!" Wario greeted. "You the one who wanted us all to meet in here?"  
Petey frowned. He looked around, confused. They hadn't wanted him to meet there? Then who left the note for him?  
"I take it you're not," Mario moaned.  
"Well dammit! I'm getting tired of waiting!" Daisy complained. "My note said to meet here at 12 pm, and it's already 12:10! If the person who devised this whole thing really wanted to meet us here, he should've made sure he was on time! That's it, I'm leaving!" She got up and walked towards the door, then reached for the handle and yanked it.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, "What's going on? It's not opening! We're locked in! Oh my God! WE'RE TRAPPED!!"

Bowser growled. "WHAT?! Now way! Lemme at that door!!" Bowser shoved Daisy out of the way and tried to twist the knob. When it didn't open, he rammed the door with his shoulder. However, he didn't even make a dent. He did it over and over again until his shoulder got soar. The door showed no signs of opening. "Damn..." Bowser mumbled. "Guess we ARE stuck..."  
"What are we gonna do, Papa?!" Bowser Jr cried.  
"Yeah, seriously!" Luigi called out. "Whoever arranged this whole thing is either not gonna show up or is already in here with us. So, I ask - please, if anyone knows who set this up, say something right now!"

Everyone was silent. They all looked at one another, expecting an answer from someone. However, no one gave one.  
Wario then jumped out of his seat. He evidently had an idea. "Hey, guys! I saw this in a movie once! So there's this guy, right? He knows one of his friends is a murderer, but he doesn't know which. So, he locks them all in a room and forces them to talk about it and come to a conclusion, and it's through this that the murderer finally reveals his true identity! Aw man, that was a great movie... There was also this really funny part where this dude blows up balloons with his ass, and then-!"

"Waitwaitwait!" Mario hushed, a certain gleam in his eye. "...I think you may be onto something, Wario..."  
"I wha-...?" Wario asked.  
"Everybody, listen to me..." Mario said in a dead-serious tone, "You all remember the two accidents that have happened in the past week, don't you?"  
Everyone nodded, almost too afraid to say anything.  
"Well, I'm gonna go straight to the point... Those accidents were acts of murder!"

Despite Mario's cryptic message, he was surprised to see that no one seemed too shocked to hear that.  
"We know that, Mario..." Luigi said. "I can bet you all the coins in Nintendo's vault that we've all been thinking that since the explosion on Mushroom Bridge..."  
But DK clearly hadn't. "WHAT?! Someone try to kill Diddy?! WHO?!"  
Birdo made some nasally sounds. She seemed to be asking the same question.  
"That's what we don't know..." Mario said sadly. "Maybe whoever set this up wanted us to discuss it? Like in Wario's movie?"  
"It was called 'Guys Locked in a Room Together' or something. No, wait.. that was that other movie I rented last week. Never mind..."  
"Umm... right. Well, we may as well. Who, umm... wants to talk first?"

"Well," said Wario, "You seem pretty eager to get this whole discussion going. Why don't YOU start, Mario?"

Mario looked around at everyone in the room. They were all staring at him, expecting him to say something. He finally nodded his head and started.  
"Well, there's two big questions here - Who did it, and why? We don't have very many leads for either question, but I guess we can start by recapping what we already know. Yoshi and Diddy's vehicle had been rigged, thereby causing it to crash, and thereby injuring Yoshi and killing Diddy. A Spiny Shell had a bomb attached to the bottom, and it was flying for Luigi and Daisy, but they dodged it, and as a result, Peach ended up getting hurt and Koopa ended up being killed. There's also the fact that mine and Waluigi's kart stalled before the explosion happened. Anything else we should know about concerning the two accidents?"

Bowser Jr piped up. "Oh, hey! Lakitu's missing too! Paratroopa and I know! Right, Paratroopa?"  
Paratroopa nodded. Mario was rather shocked by this development. "Lakitu... missing? What makes you say that?"  
"It was crazy!" Bowser Jr exclaimed. "When Paratroopa and I were practicing on SNES Rainbow Road last night, we drove off the edge, and Lakitu didn't come to save us! We almost died! But Paratroopa saved us. We couldn't save the Parade Kart, though. I think that was one of the only ones, too. We'll probably get in trouble for that..."

"Pah! No one likes that huge-ass thing anyway..." Bowser remarked.  
Mario scratched his chin. "That's weird... I remember he did the signal light at the beginning of the Mushroom Bridge race..."  
Paratroopa made a few barks. Mario nodded.  
"That's true. Lakitu could've saved Koopa, couldn't he? Hmm... Well, Lakitu's absence lately is without a doubt relevant. But that can't mean he's the killer, could it?"  
"Oh, Mario..." Daisy said with a chill. "Don't use the word 'killer'. It's just too..."  
"True?" Mario finished.  
Daisy was about to say something, but retreated.

"As for Lakitu being the culprit," Toadette thought aloud, "I don't think so. Think it's possible that maybe he was just a pawn of the true culprit? You know, like maybe he was paid to stand by and watch Koopa die? And to just let Bowser Jr and Paratroopa fall off Rainbow Road?"  
Birdo had been speaking off to the side with DK, and DK then spoke his mind. "But if Lakitu just pawn for real bad guy, maybe there other pawns?"  
Waluigi snapped his fingers. "Hey, yeah! Maybe it's not just one person. Maybe it's a group of people working together to make these accidents happen! Makes sense, don't it? I mean, we've already concluded that the suspect, or 'suspects' rather, are among the Double Dash Team, right? It's possible that whoever's running the whole operation or whatever is using some of the team members to do his bidding..."  
"Yeah!" Wario shouted accusingly, "Like Paratroopa's mechanical skills!"

Paratroopa looked at Wario in shock. He barked a forceful rebuttal.  
"Well, c'mon! You're the auto mechanic, right? YOU could've tinkered with Yoshi and Diddy's car! You're probably the only one that could have!"  
DK and Birdo both looked at Paratroopa, not sure whether to believe what they were hearing. Could Paratroopa have really been the cause of the first accident that landed Yoshi in the hospital and Diddy in his grave?  
Paratroopa just shook his head with an angry look on his face. He seemed to be getting suspecting glares from everyone, though.  
"Paratroopa couldn't have done it!" Mario shouted. "Why would he set up that accident, and then have the second one kill his own partner?!"  
"I thought it was pretty clear that the killer was gunning for Luigi and Daisy that time!" Wario argued, "And besides, I thought we also figured out that there may be more than one person behind all this! The second accident could've been devised without Paratroopa's consent at all!"  
"Why are you so intent on blaming Paratroopa!?" Mario shouted. "You trying to divert attention away from yourself or what?!"

Everyone then looked straight at Wario, who looked around with an angry frown. "Oh, come on Mario! You don't actually think I would try to kill one of my own racing buddies, do you? I mean, I admit it - I'm greedy, and I'm a total jerk, but I'm NOT evil!"  
Mario sighed. "I know you're not evil, Wario. And I know you wouldn't do something like that, but..."  
"Ah, but there's another problem!" Luigi said. "I don't think ANY of us would think any of our friends here were capable of murder, do we?"  
Everyone realized Luigi was right. Petey grunted a response in Piranha talk.  
"Well, we all can't just stop trusting one another..." Mario said. "Can we?"

"Are you all total idiots or what?!" Bowser snarled. "If anyone's involved in all this conspiracy shit, it's that freaky-as-hell Mr V guy!"  
That name alone was enough to make everyone's heart stop cold in their chests for a brief second. Indeed, Bowser had certainly made an obvious comment right there, but sometimes the obvious needs to stated.

"Looks like we finally agree on something, Bowser," Mario reasoned. "I have no idea WHAT the hell that guy's story is, but he's gotta have something to do with all this..."  
"Well actually," thought Waluigi, "As wacked out as that man is, he's never really shown a direct connection to any of these accidents. Really, what more has he done than talk to us at night and scare us out of our pants?"  
"Don't forget, though," Luigi said, "He IS the Vice President. I'm sure he has more power over this league than we understand."

"Now wait a minute," Daisy then said, "If it's someone with power that might be the bad guy... What about Toad? He's the President. The highest-ranking member of the team. Ya think...?"  
Toadette shook her head. "No! He's my brother! I know him! He'd never do something like that! Besides, what motives could he have?!"  
"Well, now that you mention it," Mario said, "It's clear we're not having too much luck in the 'who' category... How about 'why'? What motives could one of us have for wanting to murder the Double Dash team members?"  
Birdo made a few nasal sounds.  
"Naw..." Mario said, "We've already discussed to death why it wouldn't be revenge. But... that's the only motive that could possibly make sense. What else could there be?"  
Everybody looked around at everyone else, but all they observed was confused faces. No one had any idea at all, it seemed. Of course, at the same time, everyone knew that one of the faces they observed was the face of a murderer.  
Perhaps more than one...

Wario seemed to be thinking especially hard. It looked as though he was trying to piece together every single bit of information he could.  
Suddenly, after several seconds, he asked a single question. "...Think this has anything to do with the Rainbow World Cup coming in about 4 days?"  
A very good question. Again, no one could answer. And perhaps one or more just didn't want to...  
Until Mario finally answered. "I'd bet my life on it."

Wario then nodded. He seemed to have made some sort of breakthrough in his mind that he wanted to keep a secret. "Well, I think we've all said enough today. So, to whoever led us all here, it's done. Let us out. There's nothin' left to talk about."  
"Yeah," Mario said. "It's too early to have such an in-depth discussion anyway. After all, there've only been two accidents..."  
"_Only_ two accidents?" Luigi asked, rather surprised. "You implying there are gonna be more?"  
"How would you know?" Waluigi asked, suspicion in his tone.  
Mario found he was now the one receiving stares from everyone. His eyes shifted nervously.

However, at that moment, a faint _click_ was heard from the direction of the door. Petey, who was the closest, got up and turned the knob.  
The door opened.  
In a fit of excitement, he jumped and flew right out.  
Everyone else was tired of this room and left one by one afterwards. However, the discussion that had just happened remained stapled to all their minds. So much so, in fact, that they didn't even wonder who had unlocked the door for them in the first place...

* * *

"Yes Mr V. Mario came into my office earlier today and said that you've been showing some really odd behavior. What are you trying to do to our team?!"  
_"__Oh, well... Mr President, I assure you, I would never do anything to hurt any of our racers! They were playing some tricks last night, so I decided to pull one on them. No big deal! What's happened to that little thing that everyone used to have called a 'sense of humor'...?__"_  
Toad gritted his teeth. Goodness, he hated speaking to this man. He always got the worst feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he heard him speak in his low, devilish voice. A feeling of sweat-inducing fear... and even a small degree of anger. But why anger? Toad didn't know, considering he'd never even personally met Mr V...  
However, he had no time to think about such things. He'd called Mr V because Mario had requested that it be done. "From the sound of it, Mr V, all the racers were terrified by your little 'trick', whatever the hell that's supposed to mean... Wait, what DOES that mean?"  
_"__Well, if you think I'm doing nothing positive to support Double Dash, I'll have you know that the racers have been staying up past Lights Out. Last night, they decided to do some prank phone calls. I, being the justice figure I am, decided I might put them in their place. That's all I will say...__"_

Toad sighed. He knew that when Mr V said that, he meant it. "Well, I appreciate you keeping surveillance on the team after hours, but what about during the races? I'm a racer myself, you know. I can't overlook the race while I'm a part of it. From what I can tell, you've done nothing to keep our races running smoothly, and you've done nothing to help us prepare for the Rainbow World Cup! 4 more days, and I've seen nothing out of you!!"  
There was silence on the other end of the line for a long time...

_"__Toad, are you still worrying over this Rainbow World Cup? You mention it even before you think about the people who have been injured or killed thus far in the Double Dash league? What about Koopa? He died just yesterday, and yet you fail to even think of him. How sad...__"_  
"Hey, SHUT UP!!" Toad shouted. "M-Maybe I just don't like to think about those things, all right?! Stop acting like you can read my mind and stuff!! You don't know me! You don't know ANYONE!!"  
_"__I know more than you think, Toad. You strike me as the sort of man that puts business over family and friends. That's a terrible trait for a man to have...__"_  
"If you knew ANYTHING about my relationships with my family and friends, you'd know that the whole reason Double Dash exists is because I wanted to race with my sister!"  
_"__Indeed, but it's also because of this that you became President of the Double Dash Division in the first place. This high position of power seems to have shielded your eyes from what's truly important in life. Yes... That's something I'm going to have to work on...__"_  
Toad cursed under his breath. "What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?"

However, Mr V suddenly changed the subject. _"__You know, your racers haven't really said much nice about me either. Can you believe some of the ridiculous things they've been saying? Why, they even started this foolish rumor that if you walk into my office while you're speaking with me on the phone, then you'll see what I truly am... but that it will also be the last thing you ever see. Such nonsense! Can you believe it?__"_  
Toad wasn't sure how to respond to that. "...Well... Hell, I'd probably believe it, seeing how fuggin' reclusive you are."  
_"__Well Toad, my office is just down that hall. To the right when you leave your office, third door on the right. You know, the one marked 'VICE PRESIDENT'...?__"_  
Toad smirked. "Yeah right, you moron. I've walked up and down this hallway each and every day for the past 3 years, and I know there ain't no door marked 'VICE PRESIDENT' in this hallway, or in this entire building!"  
_"__Well for goodness sake Toad, where on earth did you believe I worked from?__"_  
"Umm... I dunno. I always figured you were calling from Hell or something. Look, that's not the point! The point is, there's no 'VICE PRESIDENT' office in this building, and that's that!!"  
_"__...Are you sure?__"_

When Mr V said that, Toad buried his head in his hand. Oh for God's sake, what was gonna happen now...?  
_"__Why not take a look for yourself? Remember: turn right, third door on the right. Why not drop by to say hello?__"_  
Toad shook his head. "No. This is ridiculous..."  
_"__I find it ridiculous that you never noticed my office before! Hmhmhm... Oh, and even when you come over, don't hang up.__"_  
"Umm... Why not?"  
_"__Ah, so you are coming then? Wonderful. Bring yourself and your phone over right now.__"_  
"But... Why would I need my phone if I could talk to you in person?!"  
_"__I wish for you to disprove that little rumor our witty racers have conjured up. You know, the one concerning me when you look into my office while speaking on the phone with me? Yes, you're curious to know the truth about that, aren't you...?__"_

Toad curled his lip. Could Mr V really be serious? As he really in his own office, labeled 'VICE PRESIDENT'? And... What if Toad did walk in while talking on the phone with Mr V...  
Could it really...?

Not saying a word, Toad got out of his chair, walked towards his door, and opened it carefully, making sure Mr V didn't hear the sound through the phone. He opened it just wide enough for him to squeeze through, and proceeded to do so. While standing out in the hallway, Toad brought the phone up to his ear. "No Mr V. I'm not curious. If the racers have seen fit to start such a creepy rumor about you, then guess what? It's cuz you're a goddamn freak!"  
Mr V didn't answer right away, so Toad turned right down the hallway and started to walk down it, pulling the telephone chord along that stretched all the way back to his desk in his office. "Also, I refuse to believe that you're even in the same building as me because your story about the office labeled 'VICE PRESIDENT' is total bull-"

Before Toad could finish, he caught sight of something utterly amazing and terrifying.  
The third door on the right...  
On the large white door...  
Painted in black letters:

**VICE PRESIDENT**

Toad couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing, but the letters were right there in front of his face. He felt like his eyes were going to explode from within his skull, he was straining so hard. Straining to see past this illusion... Yes, no doubt it was an illusion. He'd walked past this very door hundreds of times, and it was always blank. It had even been so earlier that day! This was madness!

Toad reached up and touched the letters on the door...  
The paint was dry, not wet like he half-suspected.  
Plus, this message didn't have the shiny texture of paint. It was dull and black, yet perfectly smooth. It was as though they could've been printed on the door by nothing less than a magic spell...

Still staring at the painted message on the door in complete paranoia, Toad raised the receiver to his ear. "H-Hello? Mr V?" he stammered, trying to keep his voice down.  
Mr V did not answer.  
"Mr V? Hello?" he said a little more loudly this time.  
Still no reply.  
"Mr V?!" Toad asked sternly, though not loud enough for anyone on the other side of the door to hear.  
Silence on the other end.  
Toad was confused. Had Mr V hung up? No, because then Toad would hear a dial tone. Was he perhaps waiting...?

Toad looked up at the boldly printed letters on the door once again that spelled out VICE PRESIDENT...  
Then at the phone in his hands...  
Then at the doorknob.

Toad stood in front of the door for almost a minute, just looking back and forth between the doorknob and the words 'VICE PRESIDENT' on the door. He hadn't bothered to try and answer to Mr V, and it was clear Mr V hadn't bothered to try and say anything to Toad, either. It was as though he was just waiting...  
Waiting for Toad to open the door and disprove that rumor...  
Or perhaps to prove it was true?

Without giving the issue much though, which was surprising to him, Toad began to reach for the doorknob with the hand that wasn't holding the telephone. As he lifted his arm, he found it was quivering a little. He bit his bottom lip when his hand rested on the metal knob.  
He felt his heart becoming twisted in horror and he twisted the knob.  
He finally turned the knob until it couldn't turn anymore.  
Gulping, Toad pulled hard on the door.  
It didn't open.  
Cursing to himself, he then slowly began to push inward. The door slowly began to creak open...

Toad took another look at the phone in his other hand before proceeding to push the door open a little more. The opening was now about one inch wide...  
_"__Toad...__"_

Toad nearly had a heart attack when Mr V's voice was heard from within the phone.  
_"__Put the receiver up to your ear. Remember, you must actually be on the phone with me in order to play out this little urban legend...__"_  
Without answering, Toad slowly rose the receiver to his ear, all the while keeping a tight, sweaty grip on the doorknob. He found there was no longer any point in trying to fool Mr V, seeing as he'd already opened the door a small amount. "Um, OK..." Toad said nervously, "I'm coming in..."  
_"__I know. Allow me to see you in.__"_  
"Huh?"  
_"__Surprise!__"_

Toad felt the door suddenly being pulled inwards, causing his hand to slip right off the knob.  
The door opened wide, and Toad stared through the doorway.  
Toad wasn't exactly sure what he saw in there. The only thing he remembered from that particular moment in time was the sound of his own petrified scream...  
The next thing he knew, his consciousness had all but left him, and his vision faded to darkness...

* * *

Toad's eyes eventually fluttered open. When they did, he found he was driving. Driving the Turbo Yoshi on Wario Colosseum. However, he had no control over his movements. It was as though some unseen force was controlling his limbs, turning the wheel and working the pedals. As hard as he tried to gain control of his body, he was just not able to, and it scared him. He found himself driving along the final stretch of the race. All there was left was the final jump, then a left turn, then a short distance to the finish line.  
He drove up the boosters, sailed over the jump, and landed with a thump.However, just as he landed, he heard a deafening _KA-CHUNK!!_ He suddenly felt the front-left side of the vehicle drop down and slam on the ground, as though something had just broken loose. The imbalance caused the vehicle to swerve left, right into the guardrail. It crashed almost head-on, causing Toad to fly forward out of his seat. The tether around his wrist snapped loose, and he flew right over the guardrail. He began to fall towards a section of track below. He screamed as he fell, and just as he was about to make deadly contact with the ground, he closed his eyes and prepared for the impact...

However, the second Toad closed his eyes, he no longer felt himself falling. He opened them a second later, and was now lying on his back on what felt like gravel. Wondering what the hell had just happened, he was about to sit up when...

_**KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!!**_

The thunderous sound of an explosion ripped through the air! Toad sat up with alarm, and saw he was sitting on the middle of Mushroom Bridge. He could see no explosion or destruction, but one thing was for sure - he could feel the bridge beginning to slope downwards into the ocean. In a panic, Toad tried to crawl up the sloping asphalt to reach safety, but was then struck hard by a startling realization - he had no left leg. He couldn't run or crawl up the slanting road that was growing ever steeper. As hard as he tried, the road became so sloped be began to roll backwards towards the churning sea. Crying for help seemed to be futile, for he was all alone on the bridge. As he splashed into the water, Toad found his lack of a left leg made it extremely difficult to swim. He sputtered and gasped, trying to keep his head above the water, but it was an empty effort.

Suddenly, the vertical stone wall that had once been the road of Mushroom Bridge began to topple over... About to fall right on top of him! He struggled to dive under to avoid the blow, but too late. He felt it slam onto his back, and slowly begin to push him down to the bottom. The blow twisted Toad all around, and he then found himself staring at the water's bottom. There lay the mouth of a vortex, swirling and sucking into the depths of the unknown, and threatening to drag Toad in as well. Screaming a garbled, underwater scream, Toad struggled against the huge concrete barrier on top of him. However, it continued to sink, pushing him down, and forcing him directly into the vortex's mouth. Just as Toad felt the suction beginning to draw him in, he closed his eyes and prepared for the worst...

Again, the moment Toad closed his eyes, he no longer felt himself underwater. Nor did he feel the large gravel road on his back pushing him under the waves. Nor did he feel the suction of the deadly vortex below. He felt nothing...  
Upon opening his eyes, Toad now found himself lying in a sort of large black box, with the top open.  
It then struck him hard in the gut - he was lying in a coffin!

Suddenly, he saw a dark figure leaning over him, as though preventing his escape. Toad peered through the night darkness to make out the stranger's features...  
His blood became ice when he saw the figure's face.  
It was him.  
He saw himself, leaning over the coffin, looking straight into his eyes. He held a shovel in his hand.  
Toad watched himself place a gentle hand on the edge of the casket, then watched his lips as they silently formed two words...  
"_I'm sorry..._"

With that, Toad's ghostly double grabbed the heavy coffin lid and slammed it shut. Toad gasped in total terror as he felt the pitch black coffin being lowered into its grave. He began to scream bloody murder, beating on the coffin's lid with his tiny fists, begging his evil twin to stop. "STOP!!" He cried at the top of his lungs. "I'M NOT DEAD!! I'M ALIVE!! I SWEAR!! I WANNA LIVE!! PLEEEASE!!"  
But the casket suddenly stopped on the dirt at the bottom of the grave, and Toad heard the sounds of dirt being shovelled onto the lid.

Even through Toad's wild screams, he began to hear a faint ringing in his ears. The ringing grew increasingly loud and intense, so much so that Toad covered his ears and thrashed about to shut the sound out. However, it seemed to be coming from within the depths of his own mind. He was going mad, and he would be completely mad before he died down there in his grave.

Suddenly, an image of what Toad had seen when he first looked into the Vice President's office flashed before his vision. An image he would never be able to describe, nor remember, yet would always be printed in the back of his mind...

* * *

Toad suddenly found himself awake. His cap and face were all covered in a cold sweat, and his heart was beating uncontrollably fast. He looked around, and to his surprise, he was in a hospital bed! But, he saw no doctors or nurses anywhere nearby. Plus, it was completely dark in the room. Had he been taken in for treatment? And where exactly had he been before? He couldn't remember.

Toad looked over and saw a familiar face in the bed next to him; Yoshi. He was sleeping soundly.  
In the next bed over, he saw Peach, who was also asleep. The cast on her left leg had many signatures on it, he noticed.

Feeling rather OK, Toad sat up and shook his head. Man, what the hell had just happened to him? He felt like his brain was just in overdrive or something. How weird. Maybe he just needed some sleep... But wait, hadn't he just been asleep? Hmm...  
Toad suddenly remembered that he had promised to pay Yoshi and Peach a visit that day. Last he remembered looking at a clock, it had been about 12 pm. Peering through the darkness, Toad tried to read the red letters of a digital clock on a nearby desk.

12:00 AM

Wow, he'd been out for 12 hours! He didn't really feel like he'd been asleep, though. In fact, he more felt like he _needed_ sleep if anything.  
He looked at Yoshi and Peach sleeping in their beds. He felt bad that he hadn't visited them like he said he would...

Toad sat at the edge of his bed, just staring at Yoshi and Peach as they slept. He wondered if they'd even stayed up late waiting for him to visit...

Well, it was too late now. They were already out for the night, it seemed. Toad carefully slid out of the bed and walked over to a nearby desk. There he saw a blank piece of paper. He figured the least he could do was write Yoshi and Peach a note explaining why he wasn't able to see them that day.  
He took a pen out of his shirt pocket, thought for a minute or two, and then began to write:

--

_Dear Yoshi and Peach,_

_I'm very sorry I couldn't visit you in the hospital today. I had some business to take care of concerning the explosion that happened on Mushroom Bridge yesterday. Needless to say, it was a LOT of work. Furthermore, there was also a ceremony held in Koopa's honor, much as there was with Diddy two days before. I'm sorry you two weren't informed, but know that Koopa will be remembered as the great friend he was to all of us. Anyway, top all that off with the DK Mountain race tomorrow that I had to make preparations for, and you can see why I had absolutely no time to come see you. Again, I'm very sorry. By the time I actually made it here, you two were already asleep. Therefore, I leave you with a good night._

_Your Friend,  
Toad_

_--_

Toad read the letter a couple times over to make sure it sounded just right. He then put his pen back in his pocket, picked up the letter, and walked with it over to Peach's bed. He was about to place it down next to her when her leg cast caught his eye again. Curious, he took a closer look...  
Scrawled all over the cast were signatures written in many different color markers. Signatures from Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Birdo, Paratroopa, DK, Wario, Waluigi, Petey Pirahna, King Boo, and Toadette. Even Bowser and Bowser Jr. Hmm... What had convinced those two to sign Peach's cast?  
Toad then noticed a signature that caught his eye in particular. It was done in green marker and was written in somewhat sloppy cursive. Next to the name was a green pawprint...  
Yoshi? Had Yoshi signed Peach's cast? But wasn't he still unable to walk? Maybe not. Maybe he'd finally gotten out of his bed for the first time in five days, even for but a second. The thought warmed Toad's heart.

Looking at Peach's cast, Toad slowly took his pen out of his pocket again. He took off the cap, and wrote his name on a blank portion of the cast. Before putting the pen away, though, Toad flattened the letter he was holding against the wall to write just a wee bit more:

--

_P.S. Peach, take a look at your cast._ C:

--

Now feeling rather content, Toad put his pen away and carefully lay the letter next to the sleeping Peach. He stood between her and Yoshi's beds for a long time, just looking at them both as they slept.  
He uttered a heavy sigh.  
"I'm sorry..." he said to them both.  
With that, he began to head out of the dark hospital back to his office to get some sleep.

As Toad walked through the hospital's hallways, he began to think about what he'd just done. As he did, the content feeling in his heart slowly faded away...  
The letter he'd written to Yoshi and Peach - nothing but lies. He'd barely even begun to settle the issues surrounding the collapse of the Mushroom Bridge, as he said he had in the letter. There was also the thing with the DK Mountain race scheduled for the next day - he hadn't even started making preparations for it. In fact, that was something he seriously needed to get done. He'd have to wake up an hour or two early that next morning to get that ready.  
And Koopa... There hadn't been any ceremony for him, as far as he knew. How could he lie about something like that? Toad tried to cover his guilt up by assuming Mario and the others had put on a ceremony for Koopa on their own. They had to have, seeing as they had all taken the time that day to sign Peach's cast. But still...

Whether a ceremony had happened or not, Toad had still lied about it to Yoshi and Peach, his friends. It made him feel terrible...  
Thinking harder about it, though, could he have really told them the truth? The truth that he had been in a dream land where he crashed a car, got swallowed by a vortex, and got buried alive? But then, if all that had been a dream, where had he physically been in real life? How had he ended up in a hospital bed from the outside of the Vice President's office...?  
The weirdest thing about the 'truth', Toad realized, was that he hardly had any idea what it was himself...  
As Toad finally reached his office, he figured maybe it would've been best if he had just said nothing at all...

* * *

"Hey guys," Luigi announced, "Shouldn't Toad be coming in here soon for Lights Out?"  
"It's already almost midnight," Daisy said in a worried tone. "He should've been here like, two hours ago..."  
"Seriously! What a waste!" Bowser grumbled. "Bowser's Bar is only fun after Lights Out!"  
"Yeah!" complained Bowser Jr. "Where the heck is that guy?! I wanna have some scotch!"  
"Now, now..." Bowser said, shaking his finger at his son, "No scotch until you're... at LEAST 10."

Mario stretched his arms and yawned. "Well, I think Toad was probably really busy today and was too tired to come down and tell us Lights Out. I mean, come on guys - We don't have to wait for Toad to turn the lights off for us. We can do it ourselves. We just have to flip a switch!"  
"Ah, but didn't Toad say something about maybe doing a ceremony for Koopa, like we did when Diddy died?" Wario asked. "I never saw him come over to say anything about that, either."  
"But again guys," Mario said, "We could've done that ourselves. I mean, we all went over and visited Yoshi and Peach, right? If we all got together to do that, I'm sure we could've done something in honor of Koopa, too... Honestly, I think we let Toad govern us a bit too much. He IS the President, but come on! We actually think we have to wait for him to tell us to mourn over our lost friend? Hell, we even think we have to wait for him to turn the lights off for us!"  
"Well, he sometimes does come off as a bit of a rough leader," Waluigi said. "I'm sure Toadette of all people knows what I'm talkin' about, yeah? He is your brother!"  
Toadette just looked at him and shook her head. "No... Toad's always been the little guy. He's never acted like he had any sort of power over me when we were growing up. It's only happened now that he's the President of Double Dash..."

By this point, everyone was too tired to discuss anymore. Mario got up out of his bed and turned the lights off. Half the team almost immediately fell asleep...  
However, it was noticed that not long after the lights went off, the door to the Resting Quarters was silently opened and shut, accompanied by the sounds of someone walking away...

* * *

"Aye, Justin! Duérmete!"  
"No estoy cansado..."  
"Pero son las doce y media! Qué carajo haces?"  
"Estoy fijando el Turbo Yoshi..."  
"El uno que chocó en Wario Colosseum?"

"Sí."  
"Pero por qué? Diddy Kong murió en ese carrito. Ya nadie quiere manejarlo."  
"No. Los Turbo Yoshis son muy populares. Alguien querrá manejarlo. Estoy seguro."  
"Aye, está bien. Pues, duérmete pronto, Justin."  
"No me llama Justin!"  
"Oh, lo siento... Justin!"  
"Aye, véte a chupar la teta de tu mamá!"

Justin the Repair Guy was busy fixing the Turbo Yoshi that had crashed on Wario Colosseum five days before, even though it was about 12:30 am. His friends pestered him to go to sleep, claiming that no one would ride in that kart anyway since someone had died in it, but Justin insisted otherwise. On a side note, he really hated being called 'Justin' - it was his English name that had been given to him when he joined the DDG crew. Being of Hispanic tongue, he could never pronounce it right - it would always come out as 'Yustin'. He much preferred his real name, Pedro. However, even his friends would call him Justin just to annoy the hell out of him.  
In any case, Justin was re-tightening the bolts of the Turbo Yoshi's front-left tire when he realized he was one bolt short.

"Aye, mierda!" he cursed to himself. "Oye! Cabrón! Dónde están los cerrojos de dos pulgadas!"  
"No hay más?"  
"No, estupido!"  
"Ehh... Yo creo que hay más en el armario al lado de la oficina del Presidente. Cómo se llama? Toad?"  
"Sí, Toad. Estás seguro que están allá?"  
"Claro que sí!"  
"Está bien. Gracias, chica."

With that, Justin headed out of the garage and towards the Double Dash Headquarters. He'd been told by his buddy that he could find the bolt he needed in a closet next to Toad's office. He knew where that was, so he began to walk through the silent night towards the dark building...

When Justin reached the door, he found it to be unlocked. That was odd. These doors were always locked after Lights Out. Maybe Toad had forgotten to lock the doors? That surely wasn't like him...  
Shrugging it off, Justin thanked his good fortune and walked into the quiet building interior. He headed for the stairs and walked up to the second floor, then began to head down the corridor ahead. This was the corridor where Toad's office was.

Justin stopped in front of the door to Toad's office. Now then... the room next to this one was supposed to be a closet where he could find the bolt he needed. But... there were doors to both the right and left of Toad's office! Hmm... Derecha o izquierda? Derecha o izquierda...?  
Justin looked over at the door to the right of Toad's office. He couldn't quite understand the English words painted on it:

**Mechanical Storage**

Hmm... "Mechanical"? It did kind of look like the word "mecánico" that he was used to. He couldn't be sure, though, so he walked a few steps over to see what the other door said:

_**Use la otra puerta, tonto.**_**  
**

"Hmm... que conviniente!" Justin said to himself. Then, without a doubt, he walked over to the other door and opened it up. Indeed, it looked a lot like a storage room for spare auto parts.

Justin didn't come unprepared, though. He brought out his flashlight and turned it on, illuminating the many tools and bumpers in the closet. He found a red tool chest and opened it up. Bingo! There he found a plastic container of the bolts he needed! Que bueno! He then clambered out of the closet and got ready to head back to the DDG to finish his work.  
However, just as he was slipping out the door, he heard someone walking up the concrete stairs! The echoing footsteps made Justin panic for a second. He stumbled back into the closet and turned off his flashlight. The door was still open a little bit, so he planned on reaching over and closing it. However, he was too late - whoever was coming had already reached the top of the stairs and was coming down the hallway. Holding his breath, Justin merely stared through the narrow opening and prayed whoever it was didn't see him...

Every muscle in his body froze as he saw a black silhouette walk past the opening. However, the person or thing continued to walk on, so they must not have noticed that the closet door was slightly open. Justin breathed a sigh of relief.  
However, he then heard a sound...  
A weird, scraping kind of sound. Like metal against metal.  
Curious, Justin slowly opened the closet door a tiny bit more...  
And when he did, he saw the mysterious stranger - and he was jamming something into the keyhole of Toad's office.  
Dios mio! Whoever it was, he was trying to break into Toad's office! Justin may have considered jumping out and stopping him, but he also didn't want to risk anything bad happening...

Justin decided it'd be wise not to jump out and surprise the intruder. At least not yet. Maybe catch him off guard if he really was planning on doing something bad. He was putting himself in a risky position by doing this, but it was better than just staying in the closet like a coward.  
The strangest thing about this intruder, however, was that even in the darkness, he looked hauntingly familiar...

_CLICK!_  
The intruder had successfully picked the lock. He looked back and forth, making sure no one was around. His shadowy face then settled on the open closet door...  
Aye, mierda! Had Justin been spotted? He tried to remain perfectly still, lest the intruder see any signs of movement. He just had to pray that his white mask wasn't so visible in the dark.  
The intruder stared at the closet door for several seconds. Each passing second made Justin sweat more and more...  
Finally, the intruder took his eyes off the closet door and shifted his attention over to the door to Toad's office. He grabbed the handle, turned it, and began to open it slowly. Justin let out a sigh of relief, but was careful not to sigh too loudly.

Justin then peeked through the door again. The intruder was rather big, it seemed, for he had to open the door a ways before he could squeeze through. After several seconds, he finally got it open wide enough and silently walked in. He didn't close the door behind him.  
"Ya me voy..." Justin whispered to himself. Careful not to step on any of the equipment on the floor, he slowly opened the closet door and stepped out into the hallway. He then flattened himself against the wall like a spy and sidled over until he was right next to the door to Toad's office. He waited a few seconds to gather up his courage, then carefully peeked around into the room.

Aye, chingo! It was almost pitch-black in this room, even darker than it had been in the hallway! He really had no hopes of seeing who the intruder was now. He could only judge what the intruder was doing by watching the dark shadow moving within the room. He was moving extremely slow and careful-like, as though trying not to wake someone that was asleep...  
Indeed, Toad was asleep in the room. His office chair folded back into a bed on which he slept. Whoever this guy was, he was taking a huge risk by coming in here while Toad was in bed. Whatever he was looking for must've been pretty important...

The black silhouette stopped near Toad's desk and, judging by sound, opened up a drawer. He took out a miniature flashlight and shone it on the papers within the drawer, and proceeded to rummage through them as quickly and quietly as possible. He would occasionally stop and look at one for several seconds before continuing his rummaging. The light was too small to illuminate the intruder himself, so Justin still couldn't make out his identity. However, he was curious about the papers he was looking through. What could they be?

Suddenly, the intruder gave a faint victory gesture. He pulled out a single sheet of paper. He shined the light on it and examined it thoroughly. He shook his head in what Justin guessed was disappointment.  
The intruder held the document and light at the perfect angle so Justin could see for himself. However, he couldn't quite make it out from the distance he was at. Gulping, he took one step into the room, and leaned in as much as he could, ready to jump back and hide again at any second.  
The document the intruder was holding looked to be a picture of DK Mountain. However, the prominent feature of the picture wasn't the peak itself, but the boulders that rolled down it. There appeared to be many of them rolling down the mountain in the picture - far more than usual. But they were just made of foam or latex, not actual stone, right? Who did the special effects again? Justin couldn't remember. "Esa fantasma... Cómo se llama...? Oh, claro! El King Boo!"

There was also some writing at the bottom of the paper that the intruder seemed to be busy reading. The type was too small to read, and Justin wasn't going any further into the room. Of course, even if he could get close enough to see the letters, he wouldn't have been able to read it anyway, since it was probably in English.

Suddenly, the intruder turned around. Justin was so surprised he flew back into a sidle position next to the door, out of sight. Had he been caught?  
After several seconds, Justin found the courage to look back into the room. Que suerte! Turns out the intruder hadn't turned all the way around, and was instead shining his light on a poster on the west wall. Justin peeked around and tried to see what it was. It appeared to be some sort of advertisement, and was decorated with flashy rainbow colors. The only word he recognized was "Cup," which he knew as the word "Copa". Otherwise, he had no idea what the hell it was.

The intruder was looking back and forth between the poster and the document in his hand, as though trying to find some connection...  
Evidently, he found what he was looking for. He uttered a snarl like that of an angry beast, then clenched his hands tightly into fists, scrunching up the paper in his right palm. If only Justin could see his face, he imagined it would've looked absolutely furious. But why? He didn't know, but he still sensed something bad was about to happen...

The intruder suddenly turned towards the desk once again and walked over. He seemed to be a bit less careless about being completely silent, and was now wholly absorbed in his search for goodness knows what. Justin watched as the intruder turned on the computer on Toad's desk, typed and clicked a few things, then leaned his face close to the monitor.  
Justin couldn't see what the intruder was examining from this vantage point... but the light of the monitor illuminated the intruder's face so he could see his face from the side...

It then struck him! He definitely knew this man! One of the racers!  
"Ese bigote... Esa naríz grande y rosada... Sí! Es Él! Pero... cómo se llama otra vez? Aye, chingo! Yo soy tan mal con nombres! No puedo recordar!"

The racer examined the computer with anger in his eyes...  
And not a second later, grunted through his teeth and slammed the desk in a fit of rage. The slam made Justin's heart skip and he jumped back out of view. It was a wonder Toad hadn't been awakened by it!

Sweaty and frightened, but still curious, Justin peeked back into the room...  
He saw the racer had left the computer, and was now standing next to Toad's bed.  
Justin watched as the racer reached into his pocket, and pulled something out. But, it was so dark, Justin couldn't see what it was...

Dios mio... Did he possibly plan on killing Toad? Had he pulled out a knife? Or perhaps a gun? What else could it be? Seeing how angry the man had been when looking at those records...

Justin watched in horror as the intruder raised the object with both hands. It was clear he was going to bring it down upon Toad's sleeping body. But what was it?! A blade? But why!? Why did he plan to kill Toad?! Justin didn't know any of the racers very well, nor did he know Toad, but he couldn't let this happen!

Justin had no time to think. Relying on his instinct, he promptly whipped his flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on, illuminating the intruder's face in yellow light.  
The mustached intruder was so surprised he turned towards the light source, only to find himself blinded by the ray. He ducked his massive frame down behind Toad's desk. Did he perhaps think he could hide? He'd already been caught! Justin knew the bright light had prevented the intruder from seeing who it was that was holding the light source.  
However, what Justin didn't know was what he was going to do now... Perhaps run around the desk and corner the intruder? But he had a weapon! ...Didn't he? Justin hadn't caught sight of the actual object the intruder was holding when he shined the light, but what else could it be? Oh, he was in trouble!

Justin then reached into his other pocket and felt something he forgot he was carrying: a wrench. Justin slowly slipped it out of his pocket, gripped it in his hand, and began to creep towards the desk slowly, still shining the flashlight in its direction.  
"Quién es usted?!" Justin asked firmly. "Levántese! Y muéstreme las manos!!"  
From behind the desk slowly arose a fat mustached face that looked very confused. "What?!" he asked.  
'What'. That was an English word Justin knew. However, he wasn't sure how to respond in a way the intruder would understand. Keeping a firm grip on his wrench, he shined the light on the man's face, causing him to grimace. "OK, escúcheme... Levántese, y muéstreme las manos."  
The man still looked confused. "Umm... Listen to me. I... no... speak... espanish."  
Justin was the confused one this time. "Ehh... No hablo inglés..."  
The intruder sighed. "Alright buddy, I know you're one of them Repair Guys, but who are you and what the hell are you doing here? And why are you holding that wrench?"  
Justin sighed as well. "Está bien... Yo sé que Ud es uno de los corredores, pero quién es Ud y qué carajo hace aquí? Y por qué lleva ese cuchillo?"  
"Look, I don't know what you're saying!"  
"Aye! No se entiendo a Ud!"  
"What the hell are you talking about?!"  
"De qué carajo habla?!"  
"SPEAK ENGLISH!!"  
"POR QUÉ NADIE NO HABLA EL ESPANOL?!"

The intruder suddenly let out a frustrated grunt and leapt over the desk. Indeed, he was holding a knife in his right hand, and he aimed to stab Justin! Justin quickly swung his wrench at the intruder's arm as he brought it down. He managed to strike the man hard in the wrist. This caused him pain enough to halt his attack, but it by no means disabled him. He quickly went in for another horizontal slash. Justin leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding the swing by mere centimeters, thereby causing the man and his huge frame to stagger a bit. Justin seized this opportunity and chucked his wrench at his face. It struck his large, pink nose, which made him yell out in pain.  
Justin was now just about ready to hightail it out of there. But no! The intruder wasn't down for the count yet! He cried out and ran straight at Justin, the blade raised high in the air. Justin had thrown his wrench, and was now defenseless! All he had now was the flashlight he held, which illuminated the last, crazed sight he would ever see...  
"Adiós, mundo..." he said to himself.

The intruder then brought the knife down with incredible speed. Using his sole intuition, Justin held the flashlight up as a last ditch effort to shield himself...

_BZZAAAP!!_

Justin was startled to feel the flashlight in his hands suddenly slip from his hands and to hear the intruder snarl in pain and anger. He had accidentally stabbed the flashlight, thus giving him a shock! He'd also dropped the electrified knife, and was now hidden somewhere in the darkness of the room! Que suerte!  
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the dark. "WHO'S IN HERE?!"

Justin and the intruder both froze. It was Toad's voice they'd just heard. The two had been so caught up in their tussle that they'd completely forgotten Toad was asleep in the very same room as them! Did neither of them remember their reason for being in the room in the first place?!  
Both Justin and the intruder lay low behind the desk, still and silent as stones. They both waited for the moment Toad arose from bed and looked around the other side of the desk to find them. Who knows what he would do? Had he even stepped out of bed yet? Was he already back asleep?

"Oh, what? I left my computer on?" They heard him say. "Damn... Must've forgotten to close that video of DrummerManiac's IAS final battle. Man, that battle gets me every time..."  
Justin and the intruder both waited and listened. They heard tiny footsteps walk towards the desk, then they saw the faint blue glow of the computer monitor suddenly disappear. Then tiny footsteps back to the bed.  
Then all was still.

After several minutes, the intruder rose up slowly and peeked over the desk to make sure Toad was back in bed and sound asleep. Once confident that he was, he picked up his knife, which he happened to feel was right next to his butt. Justin expected the worst. He shielded his face.  
But no. The intruder instead pulled a paper out of his pocket. It was the very document he's excavated from the desk earlier. He quietly stood up, and flattened the paper on the desk. He suddenly raised the knife, and stabbed it into the document, pinning it on the desk. He then took a small piece of paper and a piece of string out of his pocket. After using one of the pens on the desk to write something on the little paper, he used the string to tie it to the blade's handle. Looking satisfied, he headed for the door back out into the hallway.

Before he left, though, he turned around and gave Justin a very cold stare. A flash of fiery hatred could be seen in his eyes.

Justin watched as the intruder raised his hand to his mouth, and put his finger to his lips.  
Justin understood and nodded.  
With that, the intruder waddled out the door and was gone.

Justin stayed in the dark room for a little while longer, just wondering what the hell was going on. He looked over at Toad, who was sleeping just as soundly as he had been before the whole fiasco had happened.  
Why did the intruder wish to kill him?  
And what was the strange document he pulled out of the drawer?  
And what had he been on the computer screen? And on that large poster on the wall?  
Was there any connection between it all?  
Aye, he seriously had to learn English!

Justin's eye then settled on the knife that the intruder had used to stab the document and pin it to the desk. Had the document ever had any life, it certainly didn't anymore.  
Peering through the darkness, Justin then gazed at the small tag that the intruder had attached to the knife's handle. It almost looked like one of the ones you find attached to a wrapped up Christmas present. Looking closer, he saw the handwritten memo on it...  
However, he couldn't read it, because it was in English. "Chingo!"

Well, it wasn't his business, whatever was going on... But still. People's lives were at risk here. If the answer was on this little notice, maybe he could have one of the racers decipher it for him in the morning? Then maybe it might clear up the conflict!  
However, the intruder had gone through a lot of trouble, only to end up leaving that memo in there. It was now clear that the intruder no longer intended to kill Toad, and now had just left this note on the blade for Toad to find when he awoke. In that case, maybe Justin would just leave it...  
But then again, maybe it would be better to take it...?

What was he going to do?

Justin figured it was best to just leave this note for Toad to find. The intruder clearly meant for this message to be read by Toad's eyes only. Plus, the document pierced by the blade... What could this symbol represent? Again, it was probably something that only Toad would understand.  
Not wanting to interfere with these affairs, Justin finally decided to shake his head and leave it alone. He picked up his wrench and all the remains of his flashlight before silently slipping out of the office. Once out in the hallway, he used his free hand to pull the 2-inch bolt out of his pocket that he'd come for. He'd sure gone through a lot of crap to get it! He planned to use it to fix the Turbo Yoshi right away when he got back to the DDG, then go right to bed. Man, he'd have a hell of a story to tell all his Repair Guy buddies the next day! Fue una noche loca!


	6. Day 5

NOTE: Spanish dialogue warning! :O

* * *

**Day 5**

**_3 Days Remain..._**

**_--_**

It was nearly noon of the next day. All the racers were prepped up for the DK Mountain race that they knew was meant to happen that day. They were all hyped up for it, as they would've been for any race, yet they also felt a sense of silent fear within them all. The reason behind this fear wasn't hard to understand, either.

The past two races... Two racers had been seriously injured, and two had been killed. Not one of the victims deserved what they got, either. It was so disheartening, and quite frankly, terrifying. They all found themselves thinking back to DK's speech that he gave at Diddy's funeral three days before...

_"He die driving car. We drive car everyday. What drive be our last...?"_

This coming race could've very well been the last one for any of them, and they knew it. In fact, deep down, they almost had themselves convinced that, in order to keep the dark tradition of the previous two races, someone WAS going to die that day...  
The question was... who?

"Hey, where's Toad?" Luigi asked. "Shouldn't he have come by now to tell us it's time for the race?"  
"C'mon, bro!" Mario said, "Didn't I say last night that we gotta stop letting that guy control us so much? We all know the race is on today, so let's just go already!"  
"Um, hellooo!?" Toadette exclaimed. "Toad's one of the racers, too! We'd have to wait for him anyway just because of that!"  
"Oh, yeah. Good point," Mario said.  
Just then, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" exclaimed Bowser Jr, jumping out of his bed and running to the door. He opened it, and when he saw who was standing there, he lit up.  
"YOSHI!!"

Upon hearing the name, everyone turned their heads towards the door with big smiles. Indeed, Yoshi was standing at the door, supported by a pair of crutches! His foot was twisted, his torso was bandaged up, there were stitches on his head, and there was a big smile on his face. "YOSHI!!" he exclaimed.  
Everyone was so ecstatic that they ran over to greet him. Even Bowser! Not wanting to get too close, they all stood outside the door and began throwing questions at him left and right.  
"How are you, Yoshi?!"  
"Those crutches feel alright?"  
"How's your brain?"  
"They give you any drugs?"  
"Did you die?!"

Yoshi just laughed at all the attention and showed everyone that he was perfectly fine. Using various forms of the phrase "Yoshi!", he explained that the doctor had seen fit to allow Yoshi to finally leave the hospital with a pair of crutches to help him walk. His broken ribs and fractured skull were no longer huge worries, and the main issue was now his twisted foot - he'd have to get the proper surgery for that the following week.  
"Will you be able to race with us in the Rainbow World Cup, then?" Waluigi asked eagerly.  
Yoshi shook his head sadly. He went on to explain that the doctors just would not permit it, not because of his foot, but because of the fracture in his skull. The jerky motion of the kart would make him susceptible to migraines and even passing out.  
"Ohh... That stinks!" Daisy complained. "It's just not gonna be the same without you, Yoshi!"  
Yoshi blushed, but then gave another enthusiastic cry of "Yoshi!" Translated, he basically said that he'd still watch the DK Mountain race that day, and he'd definitely be there to watch them race the Rainbow World Cup!

To everyone's surprise, Toad came walking up to the door behind Yoshi not long after. He appeared very troubled by something, like he'd just seen a ghost. He almost bumped into Yoshi, he was so out of it.  
Toad motioned for Yoshi to please scoot over so he could talk to the team. With a bit of difficulty, Yoshi complied. Toad then stood in the doorway in front of his fellow racers.  
"Sorry I'm late this morning," he said lowly. "I was up late last prepping for the DK Mountain race today, and I even had to visit the track this morning to, umm... make some more preparations. Well, even so, I believe we're ready to go! Paratroopa? Did you and the Repair Guys inspect and repair the vehicles this morning?"  
Paratroopa barked and nodded.  
"Waluigi, did you replenish the Item Supply for this race?"  
"Yessir! And I didn't find any sort of Spiny Shell bomb or nothin' this time!"

"Fantastic..." Toad muttered under his breath. "And King Boo? You got all the rolling boulder special effects ready to go?"  
"Affirmative sir! Got it all taken care of last night!"  
Toad nodded in approval. "Alright then, folks. Let's try to bring back the safety that won the Double Dash team it's Safety Award in the first place!"  
Everyone cheered and smiled. Toad smiled himself.  
"Alright then everyone! Double up!"

Everyone paired up with their rightful partner this time, with the exception of the Waluigi/Petey and the Wario/King Boo combos. This also meant to say that Daisy and Birdo were paired up, as were DK and Paratroopa. By the end, the only ones who hadn't paired up, for whatever reason, were Bowser, Bowser Jr, Toad, and Toadette.  
"C'mon Papa! Let's race together again today!"  
"Hmm... Naw, not today. I feel like you should broaden your horizons a bit, Jr. It's good for your mind to become acquainted with all of your fellow racers."  
"...What the hell are you talking about?"  
"I DON'T KNOW!! But listen, we've done every race together for as long as I can remember. Let's mix it up a bit today."  
"Aw, fine... But I'm partnering up with Toad. You get Toadette."  
"What?! Urgh... Fine. It's always gotta be what YOU want..."

Bowser stood next to Toadette, who looked up at him with a slight look of nervousness in her eyes. Bowser looked back down at her and grimaced. "What do you think YOU'RE looking at?!"  
Toadette shrugged. "You."  
"Oh yeah?!" Bowser snarled. "Well... I'm... I'm looking at YOU, too!"  
"So I see."  
"Oh, shut up!"  
"I didn't start the conversation."  
"URGH!!"

Bowser Jr walked slowly over to Toad. "Hey Toad. Wanna race with me?"  
"Sure, little man," Toad replied. He noticed Bowser Jr's face was actually very sad. He looked over at his dad, who was arguing over something stupid with Toadette. Bowser Jr frowned. "Papa..."  
Toad put a hand on Bowser Jr's shoulder. "Don't worry, Bowser Jr. It's just for one race. So, we gonna kick ass, or what?!"  
Bowser Jr eventually nodded and grinned. "Yeah... Let's kick ass out there!"  
"Hellz yeah!" Toad exclaimed, happy to see Bowser Jr was feeling OK about racing without his dad. "So, which kart you wanna use?"  
"My kart!" Bowser Jr said with a jump. "The Bullet Blaster!"  
"Sure thing," Toad said. He then turned to everyone. "OK guys, let's head on over to the DDG!"

Upon reaching the DDG, Bowser Jr and Toad were the first to hop into their vehicle, the Bullet Blaster. Bowser Jr immediately dashed for the driver's seat. "I'm drivin'!" he called out.  
"Aw, c'mon!" Toad complained. "I never get to drive, and as far as I know, you always do! Move outta the way!"  
"Make me!"  
"Aye... It can't hurt to try something new! Didn't your dad want you to broaden your horizons?"  
"Yeah... But what the hell does that mean?!"  
"It means... Oh! Look at that! A nickel!"  
"What?! Where?!"

"In the backseat!"  
"No way! There's a nickel in my car?!"  
"Yeah! Better hop back there if you want it!"  
"Sweeet!!"  
Bowser Jr jumped into the backseat of the vehicle and proceeded to rummage around for the nickel, while Toad took the opportunity to jump into the driver's seat and begin to head out to DK Mountain. It was noticed as he left the garage that a certain Repair Guy was giving him a very odd look from beyond his mask...

There was nothing strange about who chose what kart, with the exception of Toadette and Bowser.  
"We're drivin' the Koopa King and that's that!"  
"But Bowser! My feet can't even reach the pedals!"  
"That's your problem!"  
"It's OUR problem, Bowser! We're a team, remember?"  
"Ugh... fine! Lemme drive then!"  
"But, I kinda wanna drive..."  
"But you said so yourself that you can't reach the pedals! You're not making any sense!"  
"What?"  
"BURRITOS!!"  
"Oh, _now_ who's not making sense?"  
"Hey, you be quiet and let me drive!"  
Toadette was about to remark, but she eventually just looked down and nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just... Toad always let me drive..."  
"Well, my son never lets ME drive! So let's switch already!"  
"OK..."  
Toadette and Bowser then swapped positions, and Bowser drove the duo out of the garage towards DK Mountain.

Within the next five minutes, everyone had chosen a vehicle and were on their way out. Mario and Luigi even gave Yoshi a lift in their Red Fire so he could join them. It was time to race once again...

As everyone left, Justin kept a particularly close eye on Toad as he drove out. He also eyed the man whom he recognized as the intruder from Toad's office last night. He was partners with King Boo. Quite an odd couple they were... In fact, as Justin wondered about it, he noticed the fat man giving him an odd stare as he drove out...  
"Hmm... Me pregunta qué va a pasar ahora..."

* * *

Within the next half-hour, all the racers were lined up at the starting line of the DK Mountain race. Mario and Luigi had to take a brief detour first, though - Yoshi requested that he set up a lawn chair near the crumbling cliff near the rolling boulders so he could watch the race. He figured he could catch most of the action from that spot. Plus, he loved watching the total newbs fall off the turn shouting "Lyke, WTF?! I wuz totaly DRIFT1ING!1 OMGWTFBBQABC!!"

And so, there they all were, waiting for the signal light to turn green and unleash all hell!  
...However, after a long time, they began to realize that Lakitu simply wasn't showing up.  
Birdo noticed and made some weird nasally sounds. Toad shook his head. "I don't know, Birdo. He's been missing since the Mushroom Bridge race. I've run an extensive search to find him, but... he's just nowhere."  
"Then how we start race?" DK asked.  
"Let's all just count down from 3 really loud. That'll work."  
Everyone agreed that was a pretty good idea, seeing as no one else had any suggestions. Everyone took in a deep breath, and began to count down...

_"3..." __"2__..." __"1__..."_

_**"START!!"**_

Right on "START!" everyone stomped on their accelerator and zoomed up the dirt road. Waluigi and Petey Pirahna managed to pull off a Double Dash and quickly zoomed into the lead. They were rounding the bend and heading towards the DK Cannon seconds before everyone else. Much to Bowser Jr's surprise, he and Toad started off in a strong 2nd place. Wario and King Boo were close behind Bowser Jr and Toad for 3rd place, with Baby Mario and Baby Luigi close behind in 4th. The order from then, in 5th to 8th, was DK and Paratroopa, Mario and Luigi, Daisy and Birdo, and lastly Toadette and Bowser.  
"Dammit!" shouted Bowser. "Which pedal is it again?"  
"The one on the _right_, Bowser!!" Toadette screamed over the roar of cars zooming ahead.  
"I'm trying that one! It's not working!"  
"NO! That's the brake!"  
"Then which one is the gas!"  
"The ONLY OTHER PEDAL down there!!"  
"What?! Nonsense! That's the brake!"  
"Just STEP ON IT!!"  
"OK, fine..."  
_VRRROOOOOM!!_  
"Whoa! Since when does the brake do that?!"  
"Ugh! Be quiet, Bowser, and just help us catch up!!"

Waluigi and Petey drove into the backside of the DK Cannon and prepared for the ultimate rush...

_KAAABBLLLAAAAAAMMMMM!!_

The duo and their vehicle got blasted out the cannon's mouth at over 150 mph! They both got massive tunnel vision as they zoomed through the air towards the mountain's smoky peak. Right at the top, the magnetic system aligning the track near the peak pulled them safely down onto the course. Damn, no matter how many times they were spit out of that cannon, it never got old!

Upon landing, Waluigi steered hard to the right around the rocky curve. The downhill section was always a blast! Waluigi managed to drive into an item box, thus allowing Petey to snag a Big Banana. He dropped it right away. Toad and Bowser Jr, who had landed on the mountaintop not far behind, accidentally ran over it. Toad found themselves heading right for the edge of the mountain and made a desperate attempt to steer right and avoid the fall. With Lakitu absent, he'd had some of the Repair Guys build some protective nets beneath this particular part as well as any area where karts might fall in. However, falling and having to be caught by one of these nets meant instant disqualification, and Toad did not want that!

Bowser Jr managed to get a hold of a Red Shell and chucked it at Waluigi and Petey, thereby causing them to tumble. Toad and Bowser Jr had just caught up with them when they began to reaccelerate, so the two teams were now neck-and-neck. They were approaching the rolling boulder section. And as luck would have it, a giant foam ball with computer-enhanced effects to make it look like a boulder (which is what the "boulders" really were, courtesy of King Boo) came leaping over the edge, bearing down on the frantic teams! The harmless but heavy boulder bounced right behind them, missing both their bumpers by inches! Petey and Bowser Jr stared at the boulder in a panic, looked at one another, and screamed!  
"FLOOR IT, TOAD!!" Bowser Jr screamed, shielding his face.  
"I'm floorin' already!" Toad bellowed back.  
Petey said something in plant talk. Waluigi tightened his grip on the wheel. "Alright Petey! Hang on!" Waluigi took a sharp right, right out of the boulder's path. Toad did his best to duplicate the move and stay behind them, but he didn't turn sharply enough! The foam boulder landed on the Bullet Blaster's left side, casing it to flip and somersault! Bowser Jr hung off the back and struggled to get back on while Toad did his best to catch up with the victors. However, it was noticed that when Wario and King Boo, who were in 3rd place, stopped short when Toad and Bowser Jr were trampled. They even permitted the fourth place team of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to speed ahead. It was as though they wished to stay behind Toad and Bowser Jr, for whatever reason...

"YOSHI!!" Yoshi laughed and pointed as Toad and Bowser Jr got pwn'd by a boulder, thus allowing Petey and Waluigi to gain the lead. They were coming around the crumbling cliff where Yoshi was sitting, and as they passed, Yoshi gave a congratulatory wave. Waluigi was too busy driving to take notice, so Petey just gave Yoshi a peace sign with his leaf hand (don't ask how ).  
The second ones to pass the around the bend were the joyful toddlers in their Rattle Buggy, and thirdly came Toad and Bowser Jr, who had just recovered from their little boulder mishap. Several feet behind them came Wario and King Boo.Yoshi waved to them as they passed, but they appeared too busy talking about something to notice. Having a casual discussion during a race? Not exactly a wise decision. In fact, if Yoshi didn't know better, he'd have said there was a sort of wicked glare in both their eyes... But, they were both villain figures, right? When didn't they?

Yoshi's train of thought suddenly stopped when he saw something small drop from the back of the kart where King Boo sat. Oh snap, had they dropped something important? Yoshi couldn't really tell what it was, since it was kind of far away. It could've been something crucial, so Yoshi decided maybe he could use his crutches to go over there and pick it up, then return it the next time the two came around.  
But no, it was too dangerous for him to do that... wasn't it?

Yoshi decided it was probably best to retrieve whatever it was that King Boo and Wario had dropped and return it to them ASAP. However, there was no way in hell he was stepping onto the track when there were still racers coming. He just hoped none of them would run over the object.  
DK and Paratroopa passed by next, followed by the Mario Brothers, and then by Daisy and Birdo. Thankfully, none of them even got close to running the thing down. Yoshi knew, though, that there was still one team that hadn't passed by yet...

At that moment, Yoshi heard the firing of the DK Cannon again. He looked up and saw the Koopa King flying overhead, with Bowser and Toadette aboard. Damn, they were _seriously_ far behind...  
Ah well. That meant Yoshi had nothing to worry about! Yoshi stood up with his crutches and began to work his way over to the object on the ground. Once he was right in the middle of the track, he began to worry for his safety again, so he got the smart idea of simply fishing the object over with his tongue. He lashed his tongue out, snagging the object, and slurped his tongue back in, dropping the object in his hands as he did. He then quickly bounded back up to his lawn chair and sat down again. He then examined the thing in his hands...

It was a small, blue note card, folded into quarters. Hmm... Kind of a random thing to be carrying during a race. If King Boo and Wario had managed to drop it, it must've meant they were holding it in their hands as opposed to in a secure place. And, if they'd been holding it, did that maybe mean they'd been reading what was on it?  
Not hearing any racers coming down the rolling boulder slope, Yoshi decided to take a sneak peak. He unfolded it and read:

_Toadette Kart; Toadette_

That was all there was, crudely scribbled with a pen. Yoshi was confused. Was the Toadette Kart somehow important to Wario and King Boo? It's not like either of them could ever ride in it - they were both heavyweights (the fact that King Boo was a heavyweight still bothered him). Yoshi ran his finger across the ink. It smeared on the page. This meant that it had been written recently. Was it important to this race, perhaps? But that made no sense... No one was even using the Toadette Kart this race - not even Toadette. And why was her name mentioned? And why had King Boo and Wario been carrying this memo during the race?

Ever curious, Yoshi decided to look at the back of the card to see if he'd missed any details...  
Indeed, he had. On the back was an even more crudely written message:

_BB; BB_

Not much of a message, really, but still interesting. What did 'BB; BB' stand for? It was written in the same fashion as the Toadette Kart one, and with the same smeary ink, but there didn't seem to be any connection. In fact, a connection was the last thing Yoshi was trying to find. He was still racking his brain trying to figure out what the two BB's stood for, and why such an odd memo had fallen out of King Boo and Wario's vehicle.  
BB... BB gun? It was the only thing Yoshi could think of, but it didn't make sense. There had to be something else...

But still, thinking about it made Yoshi feel uneasy. Was something going to happen in this race like the previous two? Was someone going to get hurt again? Was someone going to die again?  
Yoshi jumped at the sound of the blasting DK Cannon. He watched with fear and anxiety as the racers above flew through the air towards the mountaintop. Would they all make it safely? Was the magnetic system working properly that would ensure their safety? Had it been tampered with?  
Yoshi then looked at the rolling boulders. They were all just regular foam balls made to look like boulders with computer-generated effects, right? They couldn't really crush someone to death...  
And the nets below the chasms where people could fall in. Toad had them recently installed, but could someone have cut them, so the weight of a vehicle would cause them to snap, thereby sending the passengers of the vehicle careening down to their deaths? Oh man, so many potential hazards! How could Yoshi himself make sure no one got hurt? Could he? How would he have any idea where disaster might strike?  
He knew it would, unfortunately, but when? And how...?

A flash of red then caught the corner of Yoshi's eye. It was coming from the mountain's peak. He slowly turned his head, and saw the final traces of a large fiery flare disappearing into the air.  
A horrible - perhaps outrageous - idea then struck Yoshi's mind. The volcano... It was gonna blow it's top!! But... how could anyone do that? King Boo could maybe create the effect, but it wouldn't hurt anyone... But then again, most special effects concerning fire are done with real fire...Yoshi looked back at the note card in his hand, then back up at the mountain's peak. He could vaguely make out Waluigi and Petey racing with Toad and Bowser Jr around the curve near the top. They were so close to the danger zone, or so Yoshi believed...

Yoshi wasn't sure what to believe, but he knew he wasn't crazy for thinking that something terrible was going to happen. And it wouldn't be surprising if it happened at the mountain's fiery peak.  
He had to warn them all... He couldn't physically stop any of the racers, but he could warn them. Hopefully, they would heed. Hopefully...  
Another bright red flash sparked at the top of the mountain that Yoshi saw out of the corner of his eye. This was more than enough. He had to go up there, and warn everyone he could along the way...

Grabbing his crutches, Yoshi leapt out of his lawn chair and began to move as fast a dinosaur with a twisted foot and crutches could. He began to climb the dirt path with the rolling boulders. He stayed off to the side to make sure he didn't get knocked down by one. Just as one of the foam boulders tumbled down the hill past him, Yoshi saw Bowser and Toadette driving down that very section of track for the first time that race. Bowser didn't even seem to notice, but Toadette gave Yoshi a worried look as she passed by, as though in response to the similar look Yoshi was giving her. Her eyes seemed to ask "What's wrong...?"  
"YOSHI!!" he called out the them as they passed. Translated, he had said "Don't go back to the mountaintop! Don't reenter the DK Cannon! It's going to erupt!"  
Yoshi noticed Bowser got a look of alarm on his face, but he still continued to drive. Perhaps he would take Yoshi's advice and stay at the bottom of the mountain? Yoshi hoped so.  
He wasted no more time. Taking a deep breath, he began hopping along at a speed he didn't even know was possible to achieve on crutches. His heart was pumping with dread, and he was taking periodic glances at the mountain's open crater, lest it throw out another red flare, signifying an approaching doom...

Yoshi had now reached the stone part of the mountain and was climbing the first rolling boulder slope. About halfway up this part, Waluigi and Petey came zooming by on their second lap. They looked at him, confused, asking what he was doing. Yoshi yelled the same to them what he'd yelled to Bowser and Toadette just seconds before. Toad and Bowser Jr heard Yoshi's cry, as did Wario and King Boo, and seemed to be taking notice. Had the circumstances been more casual, Yoshi would've called out to them about the blue index card they had dropped. However, he didn't have the time. He just had to keep climbing...

On the way up, Yoshi managed to shout out to every racer as they passed. The Babies, DK and Paratroopa, Birdo and Daisy, and the Mario Brothers were made aware of Yoshi's warning. However, it was impossible to tell if any of them would actually listen. As he trudged up the difficult rocky slope, he just prayed he wouldn't hear the echo of the DK Cannon's fire from below anytime soon, for another flare had just erupted from DK Mountain's flaming crater...

"Yeah Toad! We're totally stompin' ass today!" Bowser Jr exclaimed. He'd just chucked a Red Shell at Waluigi and Petey, thus causing them to tumble near the finish line. Toad's uber driving skills allowed them to zip past and take the lead!  
"Heck yeah!" Toad shouted over the roaring engine as he zoomed across the finish line into the 3rd lap. "We just gotta keep this up for one more lap!"  
"Cool! Oh, but wait - What was that thing that Yoshi called out to us up there!? Something about the volcano erupting!?"  
"C'mon, Bowser Jr! The smoke coming out of the mountain ain't real! It's just another one of King Boo's special effects! This ain't a real volcano! Yoshi's just being delirious!"

"...H-hey, look! Someone's ahead of us!"  
"WHAT?? No way! The screen says were 1st place! Who is it?!"  
"Umm... Looks like my dad and your sister!"  
"Oh, really? Well, we're probably just about to lap them, then. Mini-Turbo us so we can catch up, alright kid?"  
"No problemo!"

While they were driving around the dusty curve before the DK Cannon, Toad and Bowser Jr did a Mini-Turbo that pulled them right up next to their kin in the Koopa King. Bowser looked over and sneered at them. "You guys must suck pretty bad to be behind us!"  
"Papa," Bowser Jr laughed, "We're a full lap ahead of you!"  
Toad laughed too. "Seriously! Yo sis, betcha never realized how good a partner you really had!"  
"Oh, shut up, Toad!" Toadette called over. "We'll show you!"  
That was the last of that conversation before the two teams drove head-on into the DK Cannon and were fired at full velocity to the mountain's peak.

Waluigi and Petey had meanwhile recovered from Bowser Jr's Red Shell, but had now found themselves to be behind Wario and King Boo as well. Desperate to catch up, they Mini-Turbo'd around the dusty curve towards the DK Cannon. Upon approaching, however, they found Wario and King Boo parked right near the cannon and doing nothing.  
Thinking little of it, Waluigi drove into the cannon and proceeded to take his foot off the gas, as he'd been trained. He and Petey waited for the rush of the cannon launch! They went up into the cannon.  
And then felt themselves slow to a stop...  
Then begin to roll backwards...

What the heck? The DK Cannon hadn't fired them out! It had done nothing!  
Upon rolling back out the cannon's rear, Waluigi and Petey looked over at Wario and King Boo, who merely shrugged as though they didn't know what was wrong with the cannon either. Looks like Toad, Bowser, Toadette, and Bowser Jr were the lucky ones to be fired in the Cannon's final operating moments...

Yoshi struggled tremendously to reach the DK Mountain's open core. Throwing his arms on the rim of the core, Yoshi pulled himself up and peaked over the edge and into the inside. When he saw what was within, his muscles grew tense and his eyes widened in terror. What was the purpose of this...?  
Suddenly, the sound of the DK Cannon firing far below echoed up to Yoshi's spot. Terrified, he turned around to see the teams of Toad/Bowser Jr and Toadette/Bowser flying neck-and-neck towards the peak. Hadn't they heeded his warning? Oh no...

The two duos landed on the stone road and began to round the curve. Yoshi abandoned his crutches for the moment and allowed them and himself to slide down the slope from the crater to the track, nearly stumbling right into the road. As the two racing team passed, he began to call out to them in a panic. "YOSHI! YOSHI! YOSHI!!"

Suddenly, a loud explosion boomed from crater almost directly above.  
A wisp of flame was spit from the smoky opening and faded into nothing.  
And then, with a sound that may of resembled a gunshot, the thing Yoshi had feared came hurtling from the fiery crater and into the air above the racetrack.

It was a colossal foam boulder, at least thirty feet in diameter, completely shrouded in hungry flames. It flew high over Yoshi's head, and as going to land directly on the large downhill section of the track...  
The section of track that the rival racing teams were just beginning to drive down! The rear drivers of each kart by this point had seen the colossus that was coming after them and went wide-eyed with fear.

Within seconds, it would land and begin to roll down the mountainside, inevitably running the two teams down with its fiery wrath. If the boulder itself didn't do them in, then the flames certainly would.  
It was going to land any second, and once it did, there would be no stopping it...  
Yoshi had to take this opportunity to do something. He could perhaps lash out his tongue and pull one of the racers to safety before they got too far away... But who could he save? He has almost literally no time to think!

A train of thoughts sped through Yoshi's frantic mind in less than a second - saving Bowser probably wasn't a huge concern, since he was probably strong enough to endure the boulder running over him. That, and he was a total jackass that the world could do without. Bowser Jr was still just a kid, but he was tough, so maybe he could survive too. That left the siblings, Toad and Toadette.  
Toad was the President of Double Dash, so if he died, it would impact them all. Would it mean the end of Double Dash? Probably not, seeing as Mario had been the President of every previous division of Mario Kart. He could probably take over if Toad died. But still, Toad was a good friend to all of them. Yoshi couldn't just let him die...  
Toadette... Of all four of them, she was certainly the most fragile and the least likely to survive the fiery boulder's assault. Plus, she was still young... and if Toad could somehow communicate with Yoshi at that moment, Yoshi knew what Toad would say. He would beg Yoshi to please save his little sister...  
The boulder mere moments from crashing onto the mountainside, Yoshi hesitated not one second. Using all the strength he could muster in his arms, Yoshi catapulted himself forward and lashed his tongue out as far as it could. He aimed straight for Toadette, who was in the backseat of the wildly swerving Koopa King. Yoshi prayed she'd be able to reach...

Toadette was looking up in the air at the quickly descending boulder. She looked so scared it was as though she might have been seeing her own life flash before her eyes already. However, she then caught sight of Yoshi's tongue flying towards her. With a look of hopefulness, she quickly undid the tether around her wrist and reached out with her tiny hand to make a desperate grab for the tongue. Bowser's erratic driving made it very difficult, but by some miracle, Yoshi's tongue came within her grasp. She grabbed it tightly and held on with both hands. Not a second later, she felt Yoshi pulling it back in at a phenomenal speed - so fast, in fact, that she remained suspended in the air as it pulled her. The flaming boulder was now mere feet from crashing into the mountain, and she was about to pulled directly beneath it. She could almost feel it's searing heat as Yoshi pulled right underneath it! Could she make it...?  
Yes! She heard the heavy object land with a _CRASH!_ inches behind her. Almost immediately after, she felt the tongue snap her up in the air, and a split second later found herself landing on Yoshi's back. He was lying down, of course, but no matter. He had saved her!  
However, she had no time to thank him. Yoshi agreed that this was no time for talking. They both looked down the mountain in horror as the humongous sphere of flaming death bounded down the mountain at top speed. It was so large they couldn't even look around it to see the three racers further down the slope. All they could do was pray...  
"Oh God, please make it!" Toadette said aloud. "Toad, please don't die!"  
"YOSHI!!"

"TOAD! DRIVE FASTER! IT'S GAINING ON US!!"  
"It can't go any faster!!"  
"Oh my God!! Papa! Help me!!"  
"Stop crying Jr!! Toad, drive faster!!"

"I'M TELLING YOU, I CAN'T!!"

Toad (with Bowser Jr in the backseat) and Bowser were both flooring their vehicles and driving side-by-side down the grey, rocky slope of DK Mountain - with a crazy huge ball of fire rolling right towards them! It was as though the volcano had erupted it right out, just like Yoshi had said! It was so massive there was nowhere they could turn to just let it roll by. They had to keep driving down the mountain! However, the hellish boulder gained momentum by the second. At this rate, it would run them all down by the time they reached the dirt path down below. They were good as dead...

"You OK Toadette?!" Toad called over to the other vehicle. However, looking into his rearview mirror, Toad saw Toadette was conspicuously absent from the backseat of the Koopa King. A wave of terror and grief overwhelmed his body. "Bowser! Where's Toadette!!"  
"She's right back ther- What!? SHE'S GONE!!"  
"Oh no... Did she fall off!?"  
"I dunno!! Maybe!!"  
"Oh God... TOADETTE!! NOOO!!"

In that moment, Bowser suddenly got an idea. Being rather close to the edge, Bowser could see the safety net that had been set up down there. If he could just swerve over and fall into it... Yes! He'd be safe from the flaming boulder of doom!  
He'd have to be fuggin' quick, though. He could already hear the crackling of the flames behind him, as well as feel their searing heat. He had to make his move now!

Bowser looked over at his son in the vehicle next to him. He was so scared he was already crying. "Papa!" he kept shouting. "PAPA!! HELP MEEE!!"  
Seeing his son so frightened almost made Bowser want to cry himself, but he had a chance to save him. "JR!!"  
"PAPA?!" Bowser Jr answered, looking away from the ever-approaching boulder and into the eyes of his father.  
"I'm gonna drive off the edge onto the net!! Jump on!!" Bowser shouted, motioning for Bowser Jr to jump into his kart. He then looked at Toad. "You too, Toad! Jump over here NOW!!"  
Bowser Jr's tearful, terrified face became a hopeful smile. He prepared to jump...

Toad had heard Bowser's command too, and to be frank, he was far more ready to take daring actions. Without a word, he immediately leapt from the driver's seat of the Bullet Blaster towards the backseat of the Koopa King. He flew over three feet of fast-moving rock ground, with a giant, smoldering boulder mere yards away from crushing him to a hot and painful death. However, the angels seemed to be aiding his flight, for he managed to land in the Koopa King's backseat almost perfectly on his hands and knees.

Toad's rash action and miraculous survival, however, came with a price. When he jumped, the Bullet Blaster was left completely without its driver - and with Bowser Jr in it who had still yet to jump. The Bullet Blaster almost immediately swerved out of control and off to the right, away from Bowser's vehicle. The sudden loss of control caused Bowser Jr to lose his balance and fall right back into the Bullet Blaster's backseat. All the while, he drifted further and further from his only salvation - his father.  
"PAPA!!" he screamed, as he veered away with no hope of recovery.  
"JR!!" Bowser called back. There was no way he could abandon his son. He wasn't going to fall into the safety of the net while his son was still at the mercy of this fiery rock of death that would crush him any second! As hopeless as it might have been, he had to make a last effort to save his son...  
But Toad wasn't willing to put them at such risk. He let out a cry and promptly leapt up and over into Bowser's lap, where he grabbed the steering wheel and pulled hard to the left. The Koopa King swerved over and off the ledge, landing in the bouncy shelter of the net not far below. Had they been up there for another two seconds, they'd have been flattened by the flaming beast - in fact, as they fell off the cliffside into the net, Toad swore one of the leaping flames of the boulder had licked his cap and left a burn mark.

Seconds after landing in the net, Bowser quickly scrambled out of the driver's seat and leapt out of the car. Flashing a very angry look at Toad, he used the net's bounciness to spring himself back up onto the rocky ledge. "JRRR!!" he cried at the top of his lungs as he scrambled back up.  
_"PAAAPAAAAA!!"_ was the last shrill cry he heard from his son before the sound of crunching metal filled the air...

Bowser finally managed to hoist himself back up onto the DK Mountain track and looked down the mountain. The fiery ball of death had run down the metal gates near the area of the rolling boulders and was continuing to roll down towards the wooden bridge area. It would fall into the canyon and cease to exist, it seemed. The fact that the fences had been flattened meant that the boulder hadn't been made of foam like the rest...

Bowser then looked over, and almost directly ahead, there lay the smoldering remains of the Bullet Blaster...  
And there lay Bowser Jr. His shell cracked and his skin burnt all over. He looked as though he was struggling to even breathe.  
"JR!!" Bowser yelled again, running over to his son's aid. He threw some burning wreckage out of the way to make room, and knelt down beside his badly injured son. He could feel hot liquid leaking from the vehicle around his feet, but he didn't care. All his thoughts were on his son.

"Jr...?" Bowser asked, reaching for his hand.  
Bowser Jr was breathing, but he didn't reply.  
"Jr?!" Bowser asked again, hoping to get an answer.  
Bowser Jr sputtered a little, but again, couldn't reply.  
"Jr... say something," Bowser said, growing more helpless by the second.  
Bowser Jr appeared almost completely long-gone, but when he felt his hand being lightly lifted up but his father's hand, he finally managed to open his eyes and look up. There he saw his dad, kneeling over him. "...P-Papa...?" he gasped.  
"It's OK, Jr. Papa's here..." Bowser said quietly. He almost felt ashamed that tears were beginning to form in the backs of his eyes, but why? This was his son. The only one he had in the world. He shouldn't have been ashamed to shed a few tears knowing that his son was going to be OK...  
"Papa..." Bowser Jr repeated again in a raspy voice.  
"Yeah..." Bowser said softly. "Papa's here..."

However, fate took an unusually cruel turn at that day. A small flame, or a tiny smoldering ash, or something else of that nature, touched the leaking gas and excited the fumes. A large explosion burst forth from the wreckage, launching Bowser backwards and causing him to fall further down the trail...

And when Bowser came to, he gazed up with sad eyes upon the leaping, hungry fire that ate away at the wreckage of the Bullet Blaster... and the last bit of Bowser Jr's young life...

* * *

It was about 9 o'clock that night. Toadette had given Yoshi a very heartfelt thank you for saving her life, and Bowser a sincere apology that his son had passed on, and was off. She walked across the dark, empty parking lot towards the Double Dash HQ, where her brother was supposedly making preparations for the Daisy Cruiser race that would happen tomorrow, as well as the Rainbow World Cup, which would happen in three more days...

Fighting to stay warm from the chilly night air, Toadette wrapped her sweater around her as tightly as she could. The arctic wind that blew seemed to be circulating around her. The way it howled and whispered... It was as though it was communicating with her. Speaking to her. Warning her...  
A sudden rush of anxiety ran down her spine. She had the most terrible feeling, but she couldn't explain what it was. Beginning to feel scared, she quickly ran for the main entrance of the Double Dash HQ. She reached for the knob, twisted it, and opened the door, running into the warm interior of the building.

Feeling relieved, Toadette began to scale the steps up to the second floor. Once up there, she walked down the hall towards Toad's office. Along the way, she spotted something she'd never noticed before. One of the doors to her lefthand side was labeled 'VICE PRESIDENT'. Vice President? Wasn't that... Mr V? He had his own office there? Since when? Well, he must have had his own office there, being the Vice President and all. But still... Why hadn't she ever noticed that before? And was Mr V really beyond that door...?

Forcing those thoughts out of her mind, Toadette continued walking down the hall. Three more doors down and... aha! Toad's office! Taking a deep breath, she began to reach for the handle. But then, she stopped. Why was she there again? It was weird that she'd forgotten already...  
Or maybe she didn't even really know what she was doing there in the first place. Hmm... The more she thought about it, the more that seemed to be the case. She really had no idea what had prompted her to walk over to Toad's office to talk to him. It was as though some unseen, psychological force had made her succumb to its will and guide her there. But why? Certainly there had to be some reason why she had come all that way...

Then, something recurred to her. Something Bowser had said back at the Resting Quarters... Something about how Toad was responsible for Bowser Jr's death. She didn't remember the details exactly (damn, what the hell was up with her memory lately?), but that's sure what it sounded like. Could Toad really have been the one responsible for Bowser Jr's untimely demise? Well, certainly not intentionally, right? She knew her big brother. He was the most kind-hearted person in the world. He'd never wish any harm on anyone. Especially his own friends...  
Or, considering he was the president, his subjects...  
Wait, no! Toad wasn't the kind to let power get to his head! That just wasn't him!  
That wasn't him at all...

After a long time of thinking, Toadette roughly shook her head and finally opened the door.  
There sat Toad at his desk. He was busy doing something on his computer. When he saw Toadette at the door, he jumped and quickly shut it down. He stared at Toadette for a long time, a mixture of emotions in his face. Toadette didn't move. She just stood in the doorway and returned his glare with one of concern.  
Toad finally spoke up. "...Hi Toadette."  
"Hey Toad," she replied.  
"What are you doing here? It's almost Lights Out. Besides, this office is off-limits to everyone other than the President. You know that."  
"Not even the President's sister?" she asked rather sadly.

Toad sighed heavily and looked up at the ceiling, then back at her. "Look, I'm sorry. Things have just been stressful lately. That's all..."  
"I can imagine," Toadette said lowly. "Another racer, gone... Can you believe it?"  
When Toad heard that, his already tired face drooped even more. "It's my fault Bowser Jr died..."

Toadette looked up at Toad with a look of surprise and sorrow. "What?"  
"I was the one driving the kart..." he choked. "If I had just waited for him to jump over to Bowser's car, and then jumped myself, all three of us could've gotten out OK... But I was just freaking out so much I couldn't think straight. I just wish I could've had a second chance... Thank God Yoshi saved you, at least..."  
Toadette walked into the office and placed a reluctant hand on her sobbing brother's shoulder. She wasn't sure what to say. Maybe she didn't have to say anything. Maybe she should just let him cry some of his emotions out for the time being...

Toad sniffled and looked down at the business suit he sat in. He looked down at it with what appeared to be shame. It was as though, if he'd had the choice, he'd have stripped it right off and gone the rest of his life in his blue vest and white diaper. Just the way it was before he became President of Double Dash...

Toad then looked up into Toadette's sad eyes. His baby sister... the whole reason he had become President in the first place. He'd wanted her to share the fun he had with all of his friends in Mario Kart. He'd brought forth the idea of two riders in one kart to Mario, and it was this idea alone that and earned him the Presidency. So he could race with her...

Toad sniffled again and looked out the window into the black, silent night. He looked so confined in his thoughts he may as well have been staring past the sky and into deep space. He then let escape a quivered sigh. "He's coming for me..."

Toadette sensed so much fear in his voice it made her stomach lurch. "W-What do you mean?"  
"He's going to make sure I pay..." Toad said barely above a whisper.  
"Pay?" Toadette asked, growing more worried by the second. "What do you mean by that? Who's coming for you?!"  
"It's what he does," Toad moaned, continuing to stare out the window, not blinking. "It's what he does..."

Toadette was so scared she was almost crying now. She shook Toad forcefully, hoping to snap him out of the spell he seemed to be under. "What is it, Toad?! Who are you talking about?! WHO?? Please, tell me!!"

At that moment, Toad broke free of Toadette's frightful grasp around him and stood up.  
He then turned around and stared down into the eyes of his little sister. She returned his gaze. They were both wearing the same face - a teary, mournful, confused and fearful face...  
Yet they both wore this same face for different reasons.  
"T-Toad...?" Toadette quivered.

Toad looked down for a second, then back up into his sister's eyes.  
And then opened his arms.  
Toadette stood still for a second, as though not sure what to do...  
But she eventually lowered her head slightly, advanced forward, and entered the loving embrace of her big brother.  
The two hugged for a long time, all the while Toad gently cradling her, as though he were a father nurturing his child.  
Then, as the joyfully sad moment came to an end, Toad quietly said into her ear, "I love you."

With that, Toad quickly released Toadette and walked out of the office. Toadette was so surprised by his sudden abandon that it almost broke her heart right there. Where was he going?  
"Toad!" she called out, turning around only to find the door had been slammed in her face. With a shaky hand, she reached for the knob and threw the door open. She stepped out into the hallway, and saw Toad was already descending the stairs.  
It was hopeless to follow him, she realized. Wherever he was going, he was going to make sure he was alone...

"Toad..." She said his name loud enough for him to hear.

However, the remainder of her sentence was little more than a faint whisper.  
"_I love you, too..._"

* * *

"Calm down Bowser! You're scaring the babies!" Daisy pleaded.  
Bowser didn't seem to hear. He let out another heart-stopping roar, yanked a pillow off a nearby bed and ripped it in two, showering fluff everywhere. His wild tantrum had everyone basically flattened against the opposite wall. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were crying hysterically, and Luigi and Daisy did their best to console them. However, that ultimately meant calming Bowser down, and that seemed all but impossible.  
"**DAMMIT!!**" Bowser kept yelling. It was the only word he let escape from his throat, and would scream it with every mattress he punched and blanket he shredded. Anytime someone made any effort to settle him down, it would only cause him to scream and rampage even more.

"Bowser, c'mon man!" Mario urged. "We understand how you must feel right now, but please! Try and be a little rational here!"  
"Shut up, Mario! Just SHUT UP!!" Bowser roared in Mario's face. He then raised his head and screamed so loud flames erupted from his throat and cast the room in a hellish, fiery glow.  
Bowser then did the unthinkable - in another fit of pure grief, he reached under his bed, pulled out the chest of alcohol, raised it over his head, and tossed it. It shattered on the floor, spilling wine, beer, whiskey, rum and everything of the sort across the floor.  
When Wario saw this, his eyes went wide and he slapped his hands on his cheeks. "NOOOOO!!"

Bowser then turned to Yoshi, who was shaking so badly he was having trouble staying up on his crutches. Bowser approached and pointed a sharp finger right at him.

"You..." Bowser snarled. "Why the hell did you have to save Toadette! Why didn't you pull my SON out of the way, HUH?! Why didn't you save Jr?! You could've, but you DIDN'T! You goddamn lizard!! WHY DIDN'T YOU?!"  
Yoshi had never seen such a hateful look in Bowser's eyes (which was saying a lot), and was so taken aback he couldn't even reply. His silence was making Bowser grow rapidly more impatient.  
"Hey, leave him alone!" King Boo yelled over to Bowser. "He could only save one person, and he chose Toadette! Quite frankly, I'd have done the same!"

Bowser's eye twitched a little. "You are fuckin' lucky that you're already dead, ya know that?! You mean to tell me you'd save that little fungus that no one cares about instead of my son, too?!"  
"Yeah!" Luigi then retaliated. "The last thing the world would ever need is a kid raised by YOU!!"  
That remark seemed to strike Bowser right in the gut. He looked at everyone standing against the wall, his hands clenched in fists so tight they'd have expected to see blood dripping from them. There was no telling what he might do at that moment...

But to everyone's surprise, Bowser merely growled roughly, whirled around, walked out the door, and slammed it shut so hard the building shook. The only sound now was the sound of the whimpering babies.  
DK had been silent the entire time, but he now uttered a grunt and followed the Bowser out the door.  
Paratroopa looked around the room at everyone, then towards the door. Barking lowly to himself, he made the decision to fly out after them as well. Where the three of them were headed was anyone's guess...

* * *

DK walked out of the building into the darkness of the night. He looked around for any sign of where Bowser might be headed. He didn't have to look long - directly beyond the edge of the parking lot, he saw the evil king's footprints in the dirt. DK didn't have a great sense of direction, but Bowser may have been heading towards Mushroom City, or rather a well-known cliff not too far away that overlooked the city. He began to head in that direction when he heard a familiar flapping and barking noise behind him. He turned around and saw Paratroopa flying towards him.  
"Paratroopa?" DK asked. "What Paratroopa do here?"  
Paratroopa made a few exhausted barks.  
"Bowser sad... I sad too. His son dead. My nephew dead. We feel the same."  
Paratroopa looked down and nodded.  
"Mmm... And Paratroopa lose friend, too."  
Paratroopa nodded.  
"Hmm... I go talk Bowser. You come too. He sad. He need other people sad like to him to be happy."  
Paratroopa looked up at him with a slightly raised eyebrow and barked a question.  
"I no know. I hear that somewhere. Make no sense, or do it?"  
Paratroopa scratched his chin for a second, then simply shrugged and barked a puzzled reply.  
"I guess we find out. We go."  
DK began heading out to the Mushroom City overlook with Paratroopa flying not far behind.

After about twenty minutes of walking, DK and Paratroopa eventually arrived at the Mushroom City overlook. Situated maybe 50 feet above the city itself, this was a popular place among the racers. Mushroom City's bright lights and constant motion just never seemed to die down, even in the dead of night. Against the black sky, the lights of Mushroom City looked like the remains of a fallen star in a black abyss that made lots of car noises. It was truly an inspiring place for all of them.

There sat Bowser, sitting just a couple feet from the edge. He sat with his arms wrapped around his knees, almost like a little kid. His heavy bawling sounded to echo off the air itself. This was a place where he definitely wasn't afraid to hide his feelings.  
DK and Paratroopa approached slowly behind him. He didn't seem to sense their presence, so DK figured he should at least let it be known to Bowser that they were there.  
"Bowser cry?"

Bowser immediately stopped and whipped around. When he saw DK and Paratroopa standing there, his rough expression didn't change.  
"What are you two doing here?!" he choked.  
"We come to make sure Bowser feel OK," DK assured.  
"Make sure I feel OK?!" Bowser shouted gruffly. "Jr just died right in front of me! You expect me to be OK?! Go away, both of you! I wanna be by myself!"  
Paratroopa floated over next to Bowser, completely unafraid of what rash action Bowser might do. He barked gently.

"I'm telling you both to take a hike!" Bowser snarled impatiently. "None of you understand..."  
DK and Paratroopa looked at one another, then back at Bowser.

"I lose Diddy..." DK said sadly. "Just like you lose Jr..."  
Paratroopa nodded and barked his own response.

Bowser looked at them both, his angry eyes still wet. "Yeah, so what? You guys lost your nephew and your... work partner! I lost my own son! He was the only person I had in the world. DK, you've got a whole frickin' family! Paratroopa, there's like, a bazillion other Koopas for you to make new friends with! Me? I got no one else!"

Bowser suddenly went soft. "...Jr... Whenever I thought about parenting him, it completely took my mind off of my stupid evil schemes to try and conquer the world and kidnap the princess and kill Mario and all that shit. Raising Jr was the only thing I ever did that ever seemed worthwhile. The only thing that ever made me feel... happy."  
Bowser sighed heavily again and looked out into the city, hiding his face from his two companions. "...And now he's gone. I don't know what I'm gonna do..."

DK and Paratroopa hesitantly took seats at Bowser's right and left sides, keeping a slight distance between them, but not a whole lot. For a long time, the three sat in melancholy silence, just gazing out at the brilliant lights of Mushroom City. How strange it was that Bowser wasn't putting any blame on anyone as he spoke. DK nor Paratroopa would've done so either. It was as though who was responsible for the deaths of their loved ones was all but inconsequential at that point.  
All that mattered was they were glad to know there was someone by their side that more or less shared their pain...

* * *

Toad stood at the top of the tallest building in Mushroom City. He wasn't sure what it's purpose was, nor did he really care. It would serve a personal purpose for him that night.

Toad put his hands on the rail and looked out at the grand city before him. The bright lights in the darkness of night never ceased to amaze him. It was like an ocean made up of the very essence of beauty, wonder, and even hope. However, even standing within this ocean, and at the very highest point of it all, Toad felt no sense of beauty, wonder, or hope at all that night...

Toad then heard the happy jingle of the Mario Bros theme coming from within the breast pocket of his suit. His cell phone, which he hardly ever used for some reason. Thus, he didn't remember giving anyone his cell phone number, and thus he almost never heard it ring. Normally, he'd have found it odd that someone would be contacting him via his cell phone under these circumstances.  
But no. Toad wasn't surprised. In fact, he seemed to be half-suspecting this particular call...  
Without hesitation, Toad pulled the phone out of his pocket, flipped it open, and put it to his ear.

"Hello Mr V..." Toad said calmly.

"_Hello Toad. I must say, I'm surprised at you. Pleasantly surprised._"  
"I guess you would be..."  
"_I am. I had to do a bit of coaxing with Wario, but your sense of justice is strong nonetheless. I greatly respect that._"  
"Thank you... But even this won't do it all justice..."  
"_Ah, but you're wrong. If there's anything I'd have hoped you would do to redeem yourself, this would be it. I'm proud of you, Toad. And believe me, I don't say that often. I only play a small part, but perhaps true fate will smile upon you in the end._"  
Toad cleared his throat, almost feeling like he was going to shed another tear. The normally haunting Mr V was speaking so calmly and emotionally. Toad almost felt touched by his words. "I hope so. I just have one question before I go, Mr V... How did you become Vice President in the first place?"  
"_Hm hm hm... Let's just say I was sent by some of the highest and mightiest._"  
Toad merely closed his eyes and nodded. "Thank you."  
"_No, thank you, Toad. I greatly appreciate what you're doing._"  
"OK. I'm going now..."  
"_Have a safe journey, Toad. May it be upward._"  
_CLICK_

Toad closed his cell phone and slipped it back into his pocket. He then leaned over the rail some more and sighed heavily once again. A few tears formed in his eyes and quickly rolled down his cheeks, falling from his chin off the side of the building. Toad watched them fall the 200 or so feet... They reflected the many lights of the city, and dropped as tiny sparkles like falling baby stars. Perhaps some poor person down there on the sidewalk would feel a teardrop land on his head. However, that wouldn't prepare them for what was coming next...

Toad stepped away from the rail and began to pace a bit back and forth on the rooftop. His palms were sweaty and he was breathing heavily. Hundreds of thoughts were rushing through his mind like a raging river. A river of black water. A river that thundered in his head and challenged the barrier of his sane mind.  
Toad then thought back to the day he'd opened the door to the Vice President's office. The day he'd seen Mr V... or so he vaguely remembered. What he really remembered was that dream...

The dream... he'd been in the position of every accident victim that there had been at that point.  
Yoshi... how he'd slammed into that guardrail and flipped over the edge...  
Peach... How he'd seen himself on Mushroom Bridge, minus his left leg - no doubt an allusion to Peach's shattered left leg...  
Koopa... Being crushed beneath Mushroom Bridge itself and being swallowed by that hungry whirlpool...  
And Diddy Kong... The coffin he'd been lying in. And he'd seen himself, burying himself...  
Yes, it was all flowing back into his mind. Like some outside force was pushing them into his brain.  
With these frightful memories now present in his sad and lost mind, Toad finally found the will to do what he'd come here to do. He stopped pacing, then advanced towards the railing again. Resting his hands on the cool metal, he stared hard out into the outskirts of Mushroom City. Up a winding curve leading into the nearby mountains, and there was the Double Dash headquarters. Toad peered through the shining lights at the building, and felt his heart sink.

He then looked down at the ground below, and closed his eyes...  
And thought of Toadette.  
He then whispered a message to himself. A message that he hoped perhaps the wind would carry to his friends back at the headquarters, and to his dear little sister.  
"_I'm sorry..._"

Then, without opening his eyes, Toad spread out his arms...  
And allowed gravity to pull him over the rail and down to the streets below. Goodness knew what thoughts were running through his mind during his final moments of weightless free fall.  
One thing was for sure, though. Whatever thoughts were running through his mind, they were happy and hopeful. Hopeful not for his own life, but for the lives of his friends and sister that would carry on even after his death.

_May he rest in peace... so they may live in peace..._

* * *

Petey Pirahna was sitting in his own bunk off to the side of the room. His pillow had been ripped in two as a result of Bowser's earlier tantrum, but it was OK. Petey had such a big, fleshy head that it in and of itself was a pretty good pillow. Still, Bowser's anger and grief had been very upsetting. While it was certainly like him to get overly annoyed and disappointed when some of his villainous plans would go astray, seeing him actually _angry_ and _sad_ was just... well, he'd never seen it before, and he wondered if anyone else had either.

Everyone else was over near Mario's bunk, discussing the whole mystery surrounding the accidents. Evidently, Yoshi had found some sort of note on DK Mountain, and Wario was saying something about Toad. Despite how terrible these accidents had been, Petey sort of believed that whoever was causing them actually wanted them all to get obsessed with solving the mystery, almost as though he was just feeding off their lust for answers. Petey completely understood how harmful this lust could be. After all, he had read the novel Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and look what happened to the characters in THAT story! The thing is, though, that story had a happy ending. Petey wasn't exactly sure how the story he and his friends were living could possibly end happily...

As much as Petey tried to block out the conversation that was going on, the voices just seemed to echo off the walls and right into his ears, wherever the hell they were. He just couldn't seem to tone the worried and angry voices out of his head...

"Yoshi, you say this memo fell out of Wario and King Boo's kart?"  
"YOSHI!"  
"_Toadette; Toadette Kart? BB; BB? _What the hell's this supposed to mean? Wario? King Boo? Got something you wanna explain?"  
"Hey, I don't know anything about that? You, King Boo?"  
"Me neither. We must've been framed. Someone put that in our kart to make us look guilty! Either that or Yoshi's lyin' through his teeth!"  
"Hey, don't you call Yoshi a liar! If one of you two was lying, I'd believe it was you, no doubt!"  
"YOSHI!!"  
"Well hey, during that same race, Bowser Jr got run over by a huge fiery boulder! Now who could've set THAT trap up, I wonder?!"  
"Hey, just cuz I'm the special effects guy doesn't mean that it was my fault! Stop making accusations, you jackass!!"  
"Look, regardless of all that crap, I have reason to believe that Toad is the killer!"  
"Oh, shut UP Wario! You're just comin' up with total shit to cover for yourself, I bet!"  
"Yeah Wario! Why don't you just admit already that you're the killer, you goddamn bastard!"  
"insert Birdo nasally sounds here"  
"Just listen to me! I was in his office after Lights Out last night and I-"  
"What the hell were you doing in his office after Lights Out?!"  
"WILL YOU JUST LET ME FINISH!?"

Petey just could not stand all this banter anymore. Figuring no one would care if he was there or not, Petey sat up and began to fly towards the door to leave.  
However, just as he was reaching for the doorknob with his leafy arm, he heard the Resting Quarters' telephone ring. He turned towards it, expecting someone else to answer. However, they were so caught up in there godforsaken quarrel that Petey decided he had no choice. He hurried over to the phone and picked it up, then put it by his ear (where are his ears? o0). He was about to ask who it was in plant language when the voice on the other end interrupted.

"_Petey, I have tragic news..._"

Petey recognized this voice from two nights ago, when they were doing the prank calls. That very night that had begun in humor and ended in horror. Mr V. Petey snarled a reply, as though asking "What is it...?"  
"_I'm afraid Toad has... joined the dearly departed. He is no longer with us..._"  
When Petey heard this, he almost dropped the receiver. Did he mean Toad was... dead? But how? Why? Petey growled these questions into the receiver, demanding Mr V to answer.  
"_It was his choice to die, Petey, and his alone. He gave his life so that it may shed some light on the lives of all of you - his friends and loved ones..._"  
Petey was now confused, about many things. Toad had committed suicide? In order to 'shed light' on the lives of him and his fellow racers? But... that made no sense. Why would Toad do such a thing, and how could it possibly improve all their lives? These questions swirled in Petey's mind like a tornado that threatened to tear his tiny brain apart...  
"_I'm sorry Petey, but if I explain exactly why Toad did what he did, then it will ruin the purpose of it all. I just want to say, that he made the right choice. However, don't expect to see the fruits of his labor blossom just yet. I can assure you, things will get worse before they get better. Just know that even after the storm, there is a rainbow. And the rain from that storm shall be the water that feeds the fruits of labor and allows them to grow and flourish. When that day comes, your lives will be headed in a better direction. Remember these words, Petey. I entrust them only to you..._"  
Petey merely nodded, not understanding what Mr V was telling him in the slightest bit. He would still do his best to remember, though.  
"_I appreciate it very much, Petey. Now, I'm afraid you must reveal the this terrible news to your fellow racers. I know this will be very difficult... especially on poor Toadette. They must know Toad has passed on... Do not tell them any of what I just told you, except that. Is that understood?_"  
Petey uttered a low snort.  
"_And also, please let them know that, as Vice President, Toad's death means that the position of President now belongs to me. They do not have to worry, though - for I will make sure the Daisy Cruiser race tomorrow goes exactly as planned, as will the Rainbow World Cup, coming in three days. Is that clear?_"  
Petey snorted again.  
"_Thank you very much. Do not let Toad's sacrifice be in vain, Petey. Do not...__"  
CLICK_

Petey listened to the dial tone for a long time, then finally managed to divert some energy from his withered brain into his arm to put the receiver down.  
He looked over at the crowd of all his friends, who were still arguing, each trying to scream louder than the other, as though they would somehow win the argument by making the most noise. Hopefully, the sad news would make them realize how foolish they were acting...

Petey stood before the angrily shouting crowd, took a deep breath, and roared at the top of his lungs. It was so loud it was a wonder it didn't make anyone's ears bleed.  
Everyone was immediately quiet and looking straight at Petey.  
"What the hell's up, Petey?" Mario asked.  
Petey was about to reply, but a thought then came to him. Was it really a good idea to just blurt out that Toad had died? That he'd committed suicide? Oh man, this really wasn't going to be easy...

Petey then got an idea. He clapped his leaves together once and said something in plant talk.  
"Something important? How important?" Luigi wondered.  
Petey responded with a 'VERY important' kind of gesture, then grunted once more.  
"Charades?" Daisy asked. "Oh, I _love_ this game! How many words is it?"  
Petey had to think for a second, then clapped his leaves 3 times.  
"Three words? OK, what's the first word?"

Petey got down on his feet and leaf arms and began to hop around. He then did his best to imitate a '_RIBBIT RIBBIT_' sound as he did so.  
"Frog?" Waluigi asked. "Something about frogs?"  
"I think he means 'Toad'!" Toadette shouted. Petey leapt up and nodded, indicating that she was right.  
"But wait," King Boo argued. "Toads don't ribbit. They croak!"  
"Oh, shut it!" Toadette snapped. "It's something about Toad, isn't it Petey?"  
Petey nodded again.  
"Alright, so just a wild guess," Wario reasoned, "The second word is 'is'?"  
Petey pointed and nodded.  
"OK," Mario thought. "So 'Toad is... something.' What's the 3rd word, Petey?"

Petey had almost been grinning at that point. However, now that it came time for him to act out the final word, his large mouth slowly lowered into the shape of a sorrowful frown. Everyone appeared to notice Petey's sudden change of behavior, and immediately knew that this important news wasn't going to be good news. This made them only more eager to know exactly what was going on.  
Petey had to think... what was a good way to act out the word he wanted to express...?  
"Just do something already!" shouted a very impatient and worried Toadette.

Petey, who knew he just couldn't make them wait any longer, did what he had to do...  
He crossed his leafy arms over his chest...  
And fell over backwards onto his back.  
He didn't get up.

"Oh! Oh! I know it! I know it!" Wario exclaimed. "Toad is...!"  
Wario took another several seconds to examine Petey's charade. The way he lay there, motionless, with his hands over his heart...  
Wario's tense body suddenly softened. "Toad is..."

A long silence ensued after that.  
At first, a silence of confusion...Then, the silence of observation, as everyone let the scene and its meaning sink in...  
And lastly, the silence of sorrow...

Toadette gazed upon Petey's limp body. In her head, she could see him. Toad, lying there with his hands over his heart. Not moving...  
"Toad..." she whispered to herself, as she began to fell the hot tears of loss beginning to form in the backs of her eyes...

* * *

"Paratroopa sad?" DK asked, even though he kind of already knew the answer.  
Paratroopa looked down the cliffside which his feet dangled over and nodded, uttering but a single bark.  
Bowser nodded too. "Ya know Paratroopa, I... can't help but feel kinda responsible for Koopa's death. I mean, I did throw the Blue Shell that had the bomb on it. If only I'd known. I'm sorry..."  
Paratroopa and DK both looked at Bowser with expressions of utter disbelief. Bowser noticed and looked at them both. "Geez, what the hell's the deal? Is it THAT weird that I'm saying sorry?"  
Paratroopa probably would've nodded, but he instead preferred to just do nothing. DK did so as well.

Bowser then looked over at Paratroopa again. "So... You saved Jr once, eh?"  
Paratroopa's mind immediately went to the time he and Bowser Jr had been racing on SNES Rainbow Road just a two days before. How Bowser Jr had driven off the edge to see if Lakitu would save them. And how they had almost fallen to their deaths. And how he would've gladly allowed them to fall all the way had it not been for Bowser Jr's innocence...

"Jr told me all about it," Bowser said. "Said you saved his life back when you fall off the edge on SNES Rainbow Road, ain't that right?"  
Paratroopa barked a reply, but the remorseful looks on his face didn't leave.  
Bowser looked down the cliff too. "...So you save my son, and all I do for you in return is cause your partner to die. Man, I feel like such a dick..."

When Paratroopa didn't reply, Bowser continued. "Jr also said that when you two were falling, it looked like you almost wanted to die... Is that true?"  
Paratroopa was still for a long time, but eventually barked and nodded once more.  
"I no understand..." DK said after a little more silence. "Paratroopa want to die by falling far?"  
Paratroopa shrugged and barked.  
"But Paratroopa has wings. Why no Paratroopa just fly real high and fall?"

Paratroopa had to think about that for a few seconds, but then barked a sincere response.  
"Oh... I see," Bowser reasoned. "You mean you still got enough willpower to not wanna commit suicide, but if put in a situation where you could die, you wouldn't mind it?"  
Again, Paratroopa just nodded.  
"Hmm..." Bowser thought. "Ya know, that kinda makes sense... Yeah, ya know what? To be honest, I actually feel kinda the same way now that Jr's gone..."  
"Yeah, DK feel that way, too," DK said lowly. "Diddy gone... and now, I sometime feel like I want die. But then I no want to. Maybe I not sure if I want to live, but I sure know I no want to die..."

The three just sat on the cliff in silence after that. It was strange, but revealing these personal thoughts to one another somehow made them feel better. It was just as DK had said - in order for them to feel happier, they needed others around who were just as sad as them. Odd as it may have sounded, it seemed to be completely true to all of them. Maybe these deaths, deep down, were having a somewhat positive effect on the Double Dash team after all...  
Yes... perhaps this was the case, assuming the mysterious murderer, who was still at large, didn't plan to kill off every last member of the team...

Bowser stretched his arms and yawned. "Aw man, I'm beat! All this talk about sons and partners and nephews dyin' and wantin' death and not wantin' death is wearing me out! I think I'm gonna head on back to the Resting Quarters. How about you guys?"  
Paratroopa sat up and stretched his wings. He barked drowsily.  
DK nodded his big head and sat up as well. "Yeah. DK tired. We have race tomorrow on Daisy boat?"  
"Yup. Daisy Cruiser tomorrow, and three days after that, the Rainbow World Cup..."

When DK heard those words, he smiled lightly. However, the smile slowly turned upside-down. "...Diddy so excited for fun Rainbow Cup Race. I promise him we ride in Barrel Train, even though I too big for it. It what he wanted..."

"Hmm..." Bowser moaned, looking up into the starry sky overhead. "Maybe Jr's out there somewhere, still..."  
"Yeah, maybe Diddy too?" DK asked. "If he watch me do Rainbow Cup Race thingy, I be sure to win for him!"  
"What? Oh HELL naw!" Bowser contested. "Jr's gonna be watching too, ya know! I'll be winning it for him! Make no mistake about that, ya crap-flinging rectal wart!"  
Paratroopa laughed and made a forceful, bark-filled rebuttal himself. It just made Bowser and DK laugh.  
"Oh, it's ON now!" Bowser snarled. He then turned towards the cliff and shouted out towards the city. "YA HEAR THAT, WORLD?? I'M GONNA WIN THE RAINBOW WORLD CUP!! FOR MY SON!! W00T!!"

DK then gave Bowser a playful shove, which scared Bowser crapless cuz he nearly fell right off the cliff. "Hey, what the hell were you thinking?! I almost fell!!"  
DK shrugged. "I dunno. I thinked you say you no mind dying. You no want die?"  
"Pssh! Not anymore!" Bowser snorted, turning around and walking back in the direction of the Resting Quarters. "I got a Rainbow World Cup to win for Jr!"  
DK smirked and began to walk after him. "Oh yeah? Well DK show you! I stay alive too so I win Rainbow Land Drinking Cup for Diddy!"  
"HA! Yeah right! Like you can expect to win something that you can't even say the name right..."

As the two began to walk away, Paratroopa just laughed to himself and began to fly over with them. Sure, maybe winning the Rainbow World Cup for Koopa was something that was really on his mind, but still... If he was to live for anything, it should at least be for that race...

While flying over to catch up with Bowser and DK, Paratroopa happened to turn around to take one last look at Mushroom City's glorious skyline against the night sky once again.  
However, as he was looking, he saw something odd...  
His eyes settled upon the tallest building in the city. There appeared to be a large amount of police cars in the city driving towards it...  
He then noticed something else. A black dot, against the building's rows of white windows, falling. Falling all the way down...  
What was that? Was it... a person? Paratroopa didn't know why, but he had a very bad feeling about this whole scene...

Paratroopa was about to fly towards the mysterious falling object with all due speed. However, even from this distance, he had the strangest feeling that he knew exactly what (or who?) it was. It was because of this that Paratroopa whipped around barked loudly towards Bowser and DK. They'd been arguing about some stupid thing when they heard Paratroopa's cries. They both turned around.  
"What? What's happening?" Bowser asked.  
"Paratroopa scared?" DK asked.

Paratroopa nodded, then made another forceful bark, as though saying "Stay here!" Not a second later, he opened up his wings and zoomed off the clifftop and over the city, towards the building. Bowser and DK now saw what it was that Paratroopa was flipping about. Whatever was falling off that building, it was nearing the ground fast. Paratroopa wouldn't have time to catch it even if he tried. Of course, why would he want to? What was it...?

* * *

Paratroopa seriously believed he'd never flown faster in his life. The red, white, and yellow lights that shone below were just like long blurs, and the building he was aiming for was rushing towards him at a speed that could only be called phenomenal. All the while, he never took his eyes off the falling thing. As he drew closer, he realized it was definitely alive.

And, as he drew even closer, he realized it was a Toad...  
However, before he was even a hundred feet away, he realized this poor Toad had already made contact with the asphalt below.

As Paratroopa flew over the street that the Toad had landed on, he immediately aimed down and nose-dived right down to the site of impact. Many police cars and spectators were at the scene, with many more approaching. Thankfully, most of the crowd seemed to be keeping their distance. Taking his chance, Paratroopa zoomed right down into the open area where the Toad's body lay. As he did, he wondered, what was it that had made him so nervous and prompted him to fly over here...?

Paratroopa slowed as he reached the ground, then hovered right down next to the body, which lay face down. It's cap was white with red spots, and it wore a blue business suit.  
Upon examining the body, even from the back, Paratroopa knew right away...

"Hey you! Step away from the body!!" a Squeek police officer shouted.  
Paratroopa looked up at the officer with sad eyes. When the officer saw him, he immediately gave him a look of familiarity. "Hey... You're Paratroopa from the Double Dash team, aren't you?"  
Paratroopa barked and nodded. The crowd immediately went up in starstruck and confused conversation.  
"Do you know this Toad?" the officer asked sternly.  
Paratroopa nodded again.  
"Who is he?!"

Paratroopa took one last look at the corpse of his friend on the ground in front of him. He wouldn't dare turn the body over, for it looked so at peace... Plus, the front was probably horribly smashed and mutilated, considering it'd made contact with the ground.  
Paratroopa then looked back at the officer, and made a single bark before spreading his wings and flying off.  
Whatever that last utterance he'd made was, it sent the crowd into an uproar. Police fired their guns into the air to quiet the crowd while Paratroopa flew over Mushroom City once more towards the overlook cliff...

* * *

Bowser and DK watched the scene from the clifftop. Whatever had fallen off that building, there sure were a lot of people and police eager to see it.  
"What falled?" DK asked.  
Bowser snorted. "The only thing that could fall off a building and attract _that _much attention is a person."

DK scratched his head. "Why someone jump off big building? They no get hurt?"  
"They die, you ass-ramming primate!" Bowser almost shouted. "And people do it cuz they think their lives are so fucked up that there's no hope for them. Really, all the people who commit suicide are just selfish, ass-kissing losers. I bet if I heard that guy's story, I'd laugh in his face about how pathetic he is!"  
DK still looked puzzled. "Why Paratroopa fly over there?"  
Bowser shrugged. "Good question. Maybe he's just like all the other morons who just wanted to see the dead guy."

Not long after, they saw Paratroopa flying back towards the clifftop to them. DK beckoned him as he approached, asking what he'd seen. Paratroopa stopped inches in front of them, his expression tense and serious. Bowser was about to say something when Paratroopa interrupted with a loud and heavy series of barks.  
Bowser and DK listened to Paratroopa's message, and when he finished, stared at him in utter disbelief.  
"_Toad...?!_" was all Bowser could blurt out.  
Paratroopa nodded.

DK began to look around nervously, whimpering softly. "Wha-Wha... Why Toad do that?!"  
Paratroopa shrugged. He was in such a disoriented state he couldn't even keep himself straight while hovering. He then made one more forceful bark and began to fly back through the foliage towards the Resting Quarters.

Bowser and DK looked at one another, then out into Mushroom City towards the wild scene at the foot of the tallest building. Did Toad's lifeless body really rest in the middle of that crowd?  
...What did this mean?

The two looked at each other again, as though begging the other to provide some sort of explanation.  
However, Bowser came to realize first that DK was no source for answers. The dumb ape was just as clueless and scared as he was. With that, he lowered his head, growled to himself, and began to follow Paratroopa back to the Resting Quarters.  
DK was a little slower at coming to the same realization, but it came to him nonetheless. He gave one last forlorn look at the wild mob down in the city before turning and following behind Bowser.

How would those back at the Resting Quarters react to the news? What did this mean for Mario Kart...?  
The questions only seemed to accumulate...

* * *

"OK," Mario announced, "I say we write down a list of questions that we must have answered ASAP! Questions about things that have already happened, things that we can only guess will happen... Anything to get to bottom of this whole conspiracy!"  
Toadette was still sulking over the news of her brother's untimely demise. "...Why does it matter? Toad's dead. Whoever's sabotaging the races is obviously doing it to bring an end to Double Dash. Now that Toad's dead, there's nothing else he can do to bring us any lower. It's over. Let it go..."  
Mario shook his head in protest. "No, Toadette. If I remember correctly, I believe YOU were the one who told me that this killer had to be caught at all costs. Remember? You said 'Justice' was my middle name?"  
Toadette looked up at him with a stern expression. "That was when I thought there was still hope that things could get better..."

Daisy looked over at Toadette sympathetically. "Oh Toadette, things will get better. Don't lose hope yet. Please..."  
Toadette let her braids hang down over her face as she dropped her head down even more. She didn't even look at Daisy. "Yeah? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't. Why we all shouldn't."  
"What the heck are you talking about?" Waluigi asked. "Whoever this killer is, he deserves to get his ass kicked! I'm sure if we just write down some questions and talk about it and stuff, we can get real close to finding out who it is! We'll probably just need a few more clues..."

"A few more clues?" Toadette asked seriously. "At what price? So far, the only clues we have came as a result of our team members who've been hurt or killed. So, you want more clues? How about we just wait and see who dies next? Do you really want that? I thought the reason we were trying to solve this whole mystery was to keep anyone else from dying-!"  
Before Toadette could finish, Luigi interrupted. "So, what do you wanna do then? Just wait around until we're all dead, or what?!"  
"No," she replied. "I'll tell you what I'm gonna do - Tomorrow morning, I'm gonna go home, and I'm not gonna come back to Double Dash ever again."

Nobody was too sure how to respond to what Toadette had just said. She did bring up a good point - if they were to have any idea of who was rigging the races, they would certainly risk more people getting hurt or even killed. But... was running away from it all really the answer? Would that have been the cowardly thing to do, or the smart thing to do...?  
Well, whichever one it was, Toadette seemed serious about her decision. And although no one in the Double Dash Team really knew her so well, they were still sad knowing she was going to be gone by the next day...

However, the thirst for knowledge in the room was quickly overcoming that feeling. "Alright..." Luigi said with a shrug, "If Toadette doesn't want to help us find the killer, then she doesn't have to. C'mon bro. Let's start making that list."  
Mario nodded, and motioned for everyone to gather around to begin formulating the list of questions linking to the mystery. They discussed every suspicious thing that had happened during the past five days, as well as things they predicted might happen come the Daisy Cruiser Race and the Rainbow World Cup. Finally, after a good ten or so minutes, a list was started:

--

_1. Who's been sabotaging the races, and why?  
2. Who is Mr V? Is he connected to the accidents?  
3. How did Mr V become Vice President in the first place?  
4. How did Toad die, and why?_

_5._

_--_

Before Mario could get to writing the next question, Paratroopa suddenly burst through the door. He had a wild look on his face, like he'd just seen the end of the world from a distance.  
"Yoshi??" Yoshi exclaimed. Birdo, who was massaging Yoshi's injured foot, nearly fell out of her chair.  
"What happened?" Mario asked the clearly bewildered Paratroopa.  
Paratroopa stopped hovering and landed on the ground. He then proceeded to sob silently to himself. In his sobs, he managed to utter an audible bark.  
Toadette, who was curled up on her bed in the corner, turned slightly towards him. "We know, Paratroopa. We already heard..."  
Paratroopa was confused. He barked a question. Petey answered in plant talk.  
"Yeah, Petey got a phone call from Mr V. He told Petey what happened, and Petey told us."  
Paratroopa looked around the room solemnly, then simply shook his head and let it droop.

A few seconds later, Bowser and DK squeezed through the door. They, too, had almost the same look on their faces as Paratroopa. DK was quick to speak upon entering. "Toad jump off building, and now he dead..."  
"It's true," Bowser grumbled. "We have no idea why, but we saw it happen with our own eyes..."

An uproar of frightened conversations soon erupted among the crowd in the room. According to Petey's charade, they were only told that Toad had died. Had he really died as a result of suicide?? Impossible! Toad wouldn't do such a thing!  
However, judging by the genuinity in Paratroopa's, Bowser's and DK's expressions, they knew that somehow - for some reason - he had.  
Toadette was especially troubled by this startling development. She curled up ever more tightly in her bed and began to whimper to herself softly, her back to everyone.

Mario inhaled deeply and sighed. "Oh... well, I guess... we'll just have to make a couple changes to the list then..."  
"List? What list? Bowser asked.

"A list of questions we wrote down to help us solve the conspiracy theory. We were gonna talk about it. If you three want to join us, you can."  
Bowser and DK looked at one another, nodded, and walked over to the bed were everyone was gathered around this list. Paratroopa, however, refused to participate. He merely walked over to his own bed, which was near Toadette's, and hopped on and wept in silent seclusion.

As for all the others, they were ready for discussion. Mario whipped out his pen and began to make the final touches to the list:

--

_1. Who's been sabotaging the races, and why?  
2. Who is Mr V? Is he connected to the accidents?  
3. How did Mr V become Vice President in the first place?  
4. Why did Toad commit suicide?  
5. Now that Toad is dead, Mr V will be the new President, who will the new Vice President be?  
6. Why did Wario visit Toad's office last night?  
7. What does the note mean that fell out of Wario and King Boo's kart?  
8. Does the approaching Rainbow World Cup have any significance? _

--

"Alright, where should we start?" Mario asked.

"I'LL tell you what question we should start with!" Bowser shouted, turning to Wario. "Hey tubby! What were you doing in Toad's office that night?!"  
"Yeah!" shouted Daisy. "You were gonna tell us a little while ago, so tell us now!"  
Wario looked around at all the glares he was getting. "Yeah, I admit it. I broke into Toad's office last night..."  
"We know!" Mario shouted. "So what did you DO in there!"  
Wario raised his fist and opened his mouth to speak. However, his wild, assertive expression seemed to freeze right then. And then, slowly, he lowered his fist and his face melted down into what appeared to be confusion. He looked to be drawing a total blank. "I... I can't remember..."

Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Daisy rose an eyebrow. "You tellin' us you admit breaking into Toad's office in the middle of the night, and yet you don't even remember what you did in there?!"  
Wario closed his eyes and shook his head roughly. However, he couldn't seem to jar his memory back into focus. "Goddamn. I know it sounds crazy, but... yeah. That's what I'm tellin' ya..."  
"OK, well..." Luigi thought, trying to sound rational, "Do you remember anything from that night? Or anything perhaps that might have prompted you to break into Toad's office?"  
"Well," Wario answered, "I can visualize when I walked into the office, and then I can also remember walking out and feeling all riled up like I'd just beat up some dumb foreigner. But, all that happened inside the office is just... nothing."  
"Do you at least remember why you would want to break into Toad's office?" Mario wondered.  
Wario's eye shifted nervously. He looked like he wanted to reveal the truth, but was afraid that a certain someone might hear his confession and not be happy with it. Regardless, Wario looked down and said, "Mr V told me to."

The crowd immediately broke into audible discussion. Birdo made some weird hole noises and formed a question.  
"Now that I'm talking about it, I do remember... Yeah! I still don't remember what happened while I was in there, but I remember why Mr V told me to break into his office that night..."  
"Well then, why?!" Daisy pleaded.  
Wario looked at them all at once. "He... he wanted me to kill Toad."

That statement made everyone deathly silent.  
Perhaps at that moment, someone would've uttered a question asking why Mr V would want such a thing, or why Wario would even listen to Mr V's command. However, Yoshi interrupted by holding out that note in his hand and asking a question of his own.

"Yoshi?"  
Wario looked at the note; the one that had fallen out of his and King Boo's kart on DK Mountain earlier that day. He nodded. "OK, I admit it - When I failed to kill Toad in his office that night, I arranged to have him killed on the DK Mountain Race with the giant fire boulder. I figured it would be the most believable method that he might die a natural death - by the volcano erupting. I even had the DK Cannon rigged as to hopefully isolate Toad at the top so only he'd be crushed. But, considering all the crap that's been happening, I should've known better than that... And the note. I wrote this to remind myself that Toad would be riding in the Toadette Kart with Toadette as his partner, because that's how it always seemed to play out. Knowing that, I'd have a better chance of my plan working. However, once I found out he would be riding in the Bullet Blaster with Bowser Jr, I was in such a hurry that I just jotted down 'BB; BB' for 'Bullet Blaster' and 'Baby Bowser'. I now regret ever risking it..."

"HE WASN'T A BABY!!" Bowser roared angrily.  
"Whoa, sorry..." Wario apologized, backing up.

"I don't believe it..." Luigi muttered. "You tried to kill Toad... And you ended up killing Bowser Jr instead?"  
"I know!" Wario moaned, throwing his hands over his face. "I feel awful! Really, I do!"  
"God, you're such a dick!" King Boo cracked angrily.  
Wario looked up at King Boo like he would've snapped his neck if he had one. Oddly enough, so did Mario. "Oh, shut it!" he yelled. "We all know you're the one who made the flaming boulder in the first place! You and your special effects are the only thing that could have! So why'd you let Wario talk you into doing such an evil thing!"  
King Boo could tell everyone was on Mario's side, so he put up no argument. "OK, I admit it! I helped Wario out with his stupid plan to assassinate Toad, but that's only cuz Wario told me Mr V wanted it done. I tell ya, once I heard that freak was behind it, I knew I had no choice but to go along with it. I may be dead, but I'll be blunt - that guy freaks me the hell out!"

Mario pouted his lips in frustration and shook his head. He then turned back to Wario. "So you tried to kill Toad in his office, huh? You failed, so you tried to get him killed by what would look like a 'natural disaster' on DK Mountain, and instead end up killing Bowser Jr. That right?"  
"That's right..." Wario moaned.  
"How did you fail to kill him in his office? Sounds like that should have been pretty easy to do."  
"I'm telling you, I don't remember any of what happened in there that night! Pay attention to what I say, for God's sake!"  
"OK, OK. I'm sorry... But I still don't get it. You mean to tell me that Mr V just walked up to you and told you to kill Toad for no reason?"  
All in all, everyone had to agree that it was a very good question.  
Wario shook his head. "No. He told me... in a dream."

Petey cocked his big head to the side and asked a question in plant language.  
"Honest. He just told me that it was for the sake of justice or something."  
"Justice?" Daisy asked, bewildered. "What has Toad ever done wrong to anyone?!"  
"If ya ask me," Waluigi added, "I say he wanted Toad dead so he could become the new President!"  
"But that doesn't explain the other deaths," Luigi reasoned. "I mean, if Mr V just wanted Toad dead, then what about Diddy and Koopa? They never did anything wrong either..."

DK looked at Wario angrily. "HEY! Wario try kill Toad! I bet he kill Diddy, too! WHY YOU KILL DIDDY!!"  
Wario looked genuinely surprised. "Hey, don't be so quick to accuse!! I admitted to trying to kill Toad, and to accidentally killing Baby Bowser-"  
"Bowser JR!!" Bowser roared furiously.  
"Whatever! Look, I've confessed to those crimes, and I'm sorry! But, I swear to the Holy Bible that I know NOTHING about Diddy and Koopa's deaths!!"  
Wario spoke genuinely enough, and to be honest, he made a good point. If he'd been willing to confess that he'd attempted to kill Toad, the President, he'd have probably fessed up to killing Diddy and Koopa as well. That must mean he didn't do it...  
So who did?

Mario's mind was on something else, though. "Wario... You say Mr V told you to assassinate Toad through your dreams?"  
"I swear it," Wario replied.  
"...Why would he want Toad dead? For justice, you said?"  
"No, for Presidency!" Waluigi interrupted. "Didn't you guys hear what I said?! He wants to be President, and now he is! So whoop-de-doo, guess what? No more accidents!"  
"I don't think so," Mario said. "Like Luigi said, that doesn't explain the accidents that caused Diddy and Koopa to die. If Mr V's behind all the deaths, why would he want those two out of the picture?"  
No one could find a good answer. Mario looked around at everyone, and eventually sighed. "Jesus... Who IS that man...? How did he even become the Vice President in the first place?"  
Again, no one knew.

"Well, at least we've found out one thing," Bowser said. "Mr V definitely plays some part in this whole scandal. Who really cares why Diddy and Koopa were killed? Maybe Waluigi's right - maybe he just wanted to be President. Well, he is now, so maybe there'll be no more accidents from here on anymore. Maybe we can just try and move on now..."  
Daisy sighed. "Oh Bowser... I wish we could all have that attitude, but there's still so much we don't understand. We can't be sure it's all over."  
"Yeah," Wario moaned glumly. "If only I could remember what happened in Toad's office that night, we might have a better lead on who the true culprit is..."  
"Hmm," Luigi thought, "I'd bet your memory lapse is Mr V's doing! He's using magical-man spells to mess with your brain! Hoho!"  
He'd kind of said that as a joke, but no one took it like one.

Mario then sighed once again. "Yeah... and if only we knew why Toad ended up killing himself after all that... I seriously think Mr V could help us get these answers. If only we could get a hold of the guy. Whoever he is..."  
"Or whatever he is!" Luigi cracked. Again, another lame attempt at a joke that everyone ended up taking into much deeper consideration...

* * *

Darkness.  
That perpetual darkness you see when your eyelids close over your eyes as you lay yourself down to sleep.  
That's all Toadette saw.

The odd thing about it, though, was that she actually felt awake. She could feel that she was fully conscious, and that her eyes were open, yet all she saw was the blackness of deep sleep. Curious, and slightly nervous, she began to look around. It was as though she was asleep, yet awake in some sort of weird mental flux. The longer the blackness didn't lift, the more worried she became. The crazy idea that she might never escape from this state crossed her mind many times. What was happening to her...?

Just then, she turned 180 degrees... and in a flash, the world had gone from pure darkness to a hauntingly beautiful plain. A sea of multi-colored flowers glowed in the sunlight overhead. The sun shone upon her face, and having just been in such deep darkness, she had to shield her eyes from its bright rays. Where was she?

Way across the pristine field, she saw Toad, standing there. He was in his usual attire - a blue vest, and a white diaper. And his back was facing to her. When she saw him, she smiled joyfully.  
"Toad!" she called out.  
However, he didn't seem to here her. That was odd, since this place seemed so empty and quiet that her voice practically echoed off the air itself.  
"TOAD!!" she called out again, taking a step into a patch of flowers before her.  
When Toad still didn't answer, she began to run through the flowers towards him. "TOAD!!" she continued to cry out as she rummaged through the foliage towards him. "TOAD!! It's me, Toadette!! Can you hear me?!"

Then, when Toadette was about halfway to reaching her brother, everything began to change. As she ran, the sun had begun to set rapidly over the horizon directly ahead, turning the bright blue sky ever slowly into a haunting shade of yellow - dull, yet vivid at the same time. Also, as she ran, she felt the ground at her feet and the flowers around her feet becoming coarse and shaggy. Just looking ahead at Toad, she could see the world changing before her - all the green grass becoming naught but dusty desert ground. All the flowers shriveling up into unpleasant, gnarled weeds.  
Toad himself was changing, too. As she got closer, his clothing slowly began to warp. Once she was close enough, she saw his clothes were changing into his business suit which he used to always wear to work. It was as though the changing world and Toad's outfit change were moving in sync. It was so odd...  
She continued to run, calling out his name. She ran through the thick and scrathy weeds at her feet until she was directly behind him. Without giving it much though, she reached out to touch his shoulder.

However, something strange then happened. Just as she would've touched Toad's shoulder, his body suddenly collapsed into a pile of brown dust. Toadette was so surprised, she shrieked and jumped back. After a short while, she reached down upon the remains of her brother, and scooped up a handful of the coarse dust in her hand. She stared at it with such confusion and sorrow. What had just happened to her big brother? Why? Dropping her head down, she allowed the dust in her hand to fly away with the warm desert breeze that blew by.

She then looked up to see the setting orange sun sinking over the horizon overhead...  
But was utterly shocked to see a strange man standing there. In fact, despite its humanoid appearance, one might argue if it was even a man at all. It was at least 8 feet tall, wore black shoes, black pants, a white long-sleeve shirt with a red vest, white gloves, and a black top hat. It also carried a cane, but more for the image than the prop-up, it seemed. Basically, every part of its body was covered. Even the face, even though it normally wouldn't have been. A strange black cloud seemed to float perpetually in front of it, obstructing the view of his face. In fact, it almost looked to Toadette like this black cloud very well could've _been_ this thing's face. The setting sun behind it only made it appear more surreal.

Toadette was freaking out, big time. "W-Who are you?" she asked in a quivering voice.  
The 'man' tipped his hat to her. "_Hello Ms Toadette. Lovely night, isn't it?_"  
Toadette gazed deeply into the figure's eyes, or rather where they should have been. "Night? It doesn't look like it's night yet..."  
The man shook his black, foggy head. "_Hmhmhm... No Toadette. Trust me. It's night. In your so-called 'real world'._"  
"Real world?" Toadette asked. Suddenly, it struck her like a bat to the head. "Oh my gosh... Why didn't I realize it before? I'm dreaming. I'm totally dreaming! You, you're not real. You're just a dream..."  
The man merely shrugged. "_Well, that's why I emphasize the term 'real world'. I'm not denying that you're asleep, and I'm certainly not telling you that you're not dreaming. However, I do contest what is real... What does 'real' actually mean? The waking world may be reality to you, but this... This world where we stand - the world which only you can visit in your subconscious sleep - is very much real to me. Therefore, I ask you, where does the boundary between these two worlds lie? And how does this boundary separate real from unreal? Oh, it's something even I couldn't begin to understand!_"

Toadette raised an eyebrow, but strangely, she didn't feel like running away. Whoever this guy was, he didn't seem daunting in the slightest. In fact, he almost seemed rather approachable, in a freaky way. "...Who are you?" Toadette asked. "And how do you know me?"  
The man looked at her intently through his invisible eyes. "_Well, I suppose in this world, there's no need for such things as lies and deception. I figure I can, for the most part, be honest with you._"  
The man then leaned in a little closer. "_I am Mr V._"

Toadette's heart seemed to stop beating for a second at the sound of the name. Could it be? THE Mr V? Communicating with her through her dream? But why? And... this is not at all what she would've expected him to look like...  
Mr V laughed at that moment, as though he'd heard her thoughts. "_Hehehe... Don't worry, Toadette. This isn't my form in the physical waking world. This is just the image I like to portray in my own reality - the subconscious world. It's a bit flashy, I know, but I think it suits me well. Do you not think so?_"  
Toadette laughed a bit nervously. How odd... Mr V's usually cold and terrifying voice now almost sounded, well... warm and soothing. "Umm... yeah, sure. Looks umm... good."  
"_Thank you,_" Mr V said, taking a slight bow.

He then stood at attention, as though ready to deliver important news. "_Toadette, I'm communicating with you from across the void to ask something of you. May I?_"  
Toadette simply nodded. Deep down, she was too terrified of this man's hidden abilities to say no.

"_Very good. I know you plan to leave Double Dash with fear that more of your fellow racers will be hurt, or even killed. Well, I'm going to tell you that you're right in believing so. During the Daisy Cruiser race tomorrow, one will be injured, and one will be killed. Who they will be, I cannot say._"  
"How do you know this?" Toadette asked.  
Mr V lowered his misty head slightly. "_Because I'm planning on it._"  
Toadette looked at him suspiciously. "...You're planning on it?"  
"_Yes. I'm making the preparations for the accident as we speak._"  
"S-So..." Toadette stammered, "So YOU'RE the one who's been causing the accidents! WHY?!"  
Mr V shook his head and held out his free hand. "_I__ never said that._"  
"So what?!" Toadette cried, "You did set them up, didn't you?!"  
"_No, I didn't. And quite frankly, I'm amazed none of you have figured out who did..._"  
Toadette could feel her hands balling up into tight little fists. "Well, YOU obviously know! Why don't you just tell us who it is, then?!"  
Mr V shook his ethereal head again. "_This is something I explained to Petey in private already, but seeing as what I'm about to ask you to do for me, I suppose I can let you know precisely why I cannot give you that information._"  
"So, why not?!" yelled an impatient Toadette.  
"_Because then Toad's sacrifice would be completely in vain, my dear..._"

Toadette suddely felt a swell of mixed emotions override her frustration at that point. She gazed down upon the brown dust pile at her feet that she remembered was her brother just minutes before. Toad's... sacrifice? His suicide had been a sacrifice? For who's benefit?  
"_For the benefit of you and your friends__,_" Mr V replied to her thought.  
Toadette was now feeling utterly confused, and quite frankly, pissed. "What the hell are you talking about?! You tried to have him killed! You tried to influence Wario into killing him, and now you're saying he willingly killed himself as a sacrifice?! Bullshit!! Did he want to die, or did you want him to die?!"  
Mr V rested both his gloved hands on the handle of his cane in a casual manner, and answered in a single word, "_Both._"  
Toadette groaned helplessly. She looked down upon the dust-pile at her feet once again. So much for being completely honest in dream world... Mr V was being just as vague and mysterious as he ever was. There was no point in trying to get any answers out of him. He just didn't want to give them to her.

"_Don't think that way,_" Mr V then interrupted her thinking again. "_I do want you to understand everything. I just cannot give you the answers. They're something you and your friends will have to find on your own._"  
Toadette just closed her eyes and nodded. There was no point in even responding to him anymore.  
"_I'm glad you understand,_" Mr V said. "_Now then, about what I wanted to ask you for..._"

Toadette's interest suddenly piqued again. She looked into his... 'eyes', and listened intently.  
"_Toadette,__" _Mr V said softly, _"__I'd like you to be the new Vice President of the Double Dash team._"

Toadette gasped and looked up at him with a surprised expression. "W-What? Me? Vice President of Double Dash? But... But why?"  
"_I wont be around much longer,_" Mr V said, a hint of sorrow in his voice. "_Toad's death was a large turning point in my job here, and now, it's almost done. And when that time comes, it will be time for me to go... I'll feel much better knowing a pure, uncorrupted heart such as yours will be there to take the President's chair come that day..._"  
Toadette looked at the dust pile at her feet once again, then back up at Mr V. "And what day will that be?"  
"_The day your team wins the Rainbow World Cup,_" he replied. Had he any eyes, he might have winked when he made that comment.

Again, knowing better than to ask questions, Toadette merely nodded. "...OK. I'll be the Vice President. And then President after you're... gone."

Mr V bowed gracefully. "_I thank you, Toadette. Now then, I shall leave you in your dream world at peace. Please keep what I've told you in mind, and be sure to take the Vice President's chair tomorrow._"  
"OK," Toadette said again.  
"_Good-bye, Toadette,_" Mr V responded before turning around and walking towards the sunset.

Toadette did nothing but watch as the mysterious man, or whatever he was, slowly began to disappear into the dim light of the setting sun. Oh, there was so much she didn't understand, and the only one who DID seem to understand everything was right there, walking away. Perhaps she should've just trusted him and waited to see what was going to happen, in which case she would eventually understand everything like he promised.  
But... he was right there! Maybe if she could just ask him one more question, it might make her sleep all that much more peaceful...

"WAIT!!" Toadette eventually cried out, reaching her hand out.  
Mr V stopped at the sound of her voice, but didn't turn around. "_Is there still something you wish to talk about, Toadette?_" he wondered.  
"Yes..." Toadette replied. "Just one question. Please answer honestly..."  
Mr V looked like he had to think about that for a second, but then nodded. "_I suppose I can do this one thing for you._"  
"OK..." Toadette said, working up the courage to ask her question. "I've been wondering... How did you become Vice President in the first place?"

Mr V turned his smoggy face towards her and stared for a second. Toadette almost felt like she could make out his eyes as he did.  
"_You know,_" he said thoughtfully, "_Your brother asked me that same question before he died..._"  
"Really?" she asked. "What did you tell him?"  
"_Do you want me to tell you what I told him, or do you want me to give you the plain truth?_"

Toadette raised an eyebrow. "Wait... Are you saying you didn't tell my brother the plain truth when he asked you?"  
"_No,_" Mr V admitted shamelessly. "_I told him only what I needed to tell and what he needed to hear. However, that's only because he planned to die, and therefore didn't need to hear everything. You, on the other hand..._"  
Toadette was still very confused, but she could still kinda sorta see what he was saying.

"_So,_" Mr V said, turning around and resting his gloved hands on his cane. "_Which answer do you want to hear?_"  
Toadette took a short while to think it over. She remembered what Mr V had told her not long before - that she would eventually understand everything, and that it was better if she were to allow the knowledge to reach her at the right time. As weird as it may have seemed, she trusted what Mr V said. Therefore, she came to her decision.  
"Just tell me what you told my brother before he died..." she replied, taking another look at the pile of soft dust at her feet. The desert wind was slowly blowing it away.

Mr V nodded. "_Very well..._"  
"OK," Toadette said, "So how did you become Vice President of Double Dash in the first place?"  
Mr V lowered his head slightly. "_Let's just say I was sent by some of the highest and mightiest..._"

With that, Mr V tipped his top hat lightly, turned around, and resumed his walk into the blazing sunset. Toadette made no attempt to follow or call out to him. As he walked away, the sun was now falling behind the horizon, thereby slowly covering the flat desert terrain in shadow. When the sun had finally disappeared, Toadette found herself all alone in her dream world, standing in the middle of this dark, unforgiving landscape.

She looked down once again.  
The dust pile that had once been her loving big brother had now been completely blown away...  
However, Toadette noticed something else...  
A flower.  
A small flower with red pedals and white polka dots was blooming in its place.  
Intrigued, Toadette bent down and studied it. It looked so fragile and lovely, even against the dusty ground it sprouted from.  
She then reached out her hand and gently touched the stem of the flower. She didn't intend to pluck it. She just wanted to touch it for some reason...

As she touched the delicate flower, something amazing happened. Many other flowers began to bloom from the sandy floor nearby. One by one, flowers of a rainbow of different colors began to spring up. The wave of sprouting colors seemed to move like a magical river that flowed in the direction which the sun had set. In fact, as the river of flowers flourished and spread forth, they seemed to light up the dark, musty world with their brilliance.  
They spread in the direction the sun had set...The direction Mr V had walked away in...  
And it all started from this one red, white polka-dotted flower.

Toadette studied the scene before her, somewhat nervous. However, the serene beauty of the growing river of flowers made her feel almost at peace. The flowers themselves, and their hidden message, made her realize what to do. Taking in a deep breath, she stepped onto the floral trail and began to follow it. As she walked the trail, the world did indeed seem to glow brighter. It soon became so bright she could hardly see what was in front of her. Despite this, she knew that she was heading the right way...

* * *

Baby Luigi couldn't get to sleep. His mom was over with his uncle Mario, and the two were busy whispering amongst themselves about something. He wasn't exactly sure what it was all about, and he didn't notice the worried tone in both their voices. All he cared was that the two were keeping him awake and he wasn't happy about it.

Baby Luigi carefully climbed out of his bed and crawled over to the next one, in which his older, more adventurous cousin slept. Not wanting to make too much noise to wake him up, he reached up and yanked the blanket off the bed.  
Baby Mario began to whimper, peeking over the edge of the bed to see if his blanket had accidentally slipped off the side of the bed or what. When he saw Baby Luigi on the floor holding the blanket in his hand, his features cringed with annoyance. "Wuigi?"  
"Quiet, Mawio!" Baby Luigi whispered, putting his finger to his lips. "My mommy and your daddy are talking and I can't sweep!"  
"So?" Baby Mario questioned.  
"I dunno..." said Baby Luigi. "I just wanted you awake too..."  
"Oh..." Baby Mario replied. He really could've cared less, since he was very tired.  
"Stay awake with me. Pwease?" Baby Luigi pleaded, cupping his hands together.

Baby Mario was about to snatch his blanket back and go right back to sleep, but his whimsy won out. He sat up, stretched his small arms, and climbed down off his bed, landing next to Baby Luigi. "OK Wuigi. I'm awake. What you wanna do?"  
"Umm..." Baby Luigi thought. "Maybe we could wisten to what our mommy's and daddy's are talking about?"  
"Eww!" Baby Mario complained. "That's not any fun! They only talk about boring, grown-up stuff!"  
"OK... Well, wanna look for Diddy and Koopa? They're still not here. They're still lost. We still haveta find 'em!"  
"Umm... I think I hearded that Bowser Jr and Toad are missing now, too!"  
"Reawy? Uh-oh! Now instead of TWO lost peoples, it's... umm..." Baby Luigi had to count on his fingers to get the right numbers. "One, two... thwee... Umm, Mawio, what comes next?"  
"Four, dummy!"  
"Oh, yeah! Four! FOUR missing peoples! We gotta find 'em, Mawio! It's up to us!"  
Baby Mario was about to nod, but he ended up letting out a big yawn instead. "Ooooghh... I'm tired. Can it wait 'til the morning?"  
Baby Luigi looked around the dark room. The sight of many empty beds made him somewhat worried. However, it really was kind of late to be doing a big search.  
"Umm, how about we just look around the room for a wittle bit, then?"  
"Naw. We already looked under all the beds and stuff. They're not in here. Let's wait til tomowwow to do a bigger look."  
"OK, " Baby Luigi eventually reasoned. "But I still can't sweep with our mommy's and daddy's talking. What do we do while we're awake?"

Baby Mario scratched his chin. "Hmmmm... Hey, how about we visit my mommy!"  
"Pwincess Peach?" Baby Luigi asked.  
"Yeah! She's in the 'hopsital', remember? Cuz my daddy said she got a boo-boo on her leg!" Baby Mario then looked out the window, as though hoping to see her. "Daddy weally misses her. He can still go talk to her and see her, but he tells me he's sad that he can't make wove with her, or something, and that all he can do is stwoke his monkey..."  
"His monkey?!"  
"That's what he says..."  
"Wow! I didn't know you had a pet monkey!"  
"Me neither. I wanna see him sometime! Maybe I can stwoke him too!"  
"Yeah! Anyway, let's go to the 'hopsital' so we can see your mommy!"  
"OK, let's go!"  
"But... where IS the hopsital?"  
"Umm... I dunno..."  
Baby Mario looked down sadly. "Well, guess we can't do that tonight either..." He then sighed deeply. "Let's just go to bed. You can sweep with me in my bed if it's too noisy in yours."  
Baby Luigi smiled at that offer. "Thanks, Mawio!"

Baby Mario helped Baby Luigi up into the bed, then grabbed the blanket off the floor and proceeded to climb up himself. He covered them both with the blanket, and then just lay there, staring up at the ceiling, saying nothing. The only sounds were the faint whispers of Daisy and Mario two beds over. At least it wasn't so loud that Baby Luigi couldn't sleep.  
Baby Luigi then turned to Baby Mario. "Mawio?"  
"Yeah Wuigi?" Mario replied.  
"All the peoples that are missing... They'll come back, wight?"  
"Of course!" Baby Mario said reassuringly. "Remember that book your daddy read us about the little turtle that got lost, but then found his way home and lived happily ever after?"  
"Yeah..."  
"The peoples who went will come back too, and we'll all live happily ever after!"  
"You mean it?"  
"I mean it!"  
"OK. I hope so."  
"Yup. Goodnight Wuigi."

"Goodnight Mawio."  
As the two prepared to drift off to sleep, they couldn't help but hear what their wake parents were saying two beds over. Although they didn't actually understand the issue at hand, they could most certainly every word they were saying...

_"I'm scared, Mario. Really, I am. We're racing on my Cruiser tomorrow, and I just can't picture someone getting hurt or... being killed. I'd never forgive myself."  
"It's OK Daisy. I promise I'll wake up early tomorrow morning and do an extra safety inspection before the boat departs."  
"Really? You'd do that for me?  
"Absolutely. It's my job! And also, I hate to see you worry so much..."  
"That's really sweet of you. Thanks Mario."  
"You're welcome, Daisy."  
"...You know, as much as I love Luigi, I just could never picture him being as proactive and protective as you. I almost hate to say it, but Peach is such a lucky woman to have you for a husband."  
"Oh, thank you. But um, ya know... there are some other needs of yours that a man like me can satisfy more rightfully than Luigi..."  
"Oh really? Please, do share..."_

"Hey Mawio!" Baby Luigi exclaimed, shaking his dosing cousin awake.  
"What is it?" Baby Mario asked irritably.  
"Look over there!" He pointed to Mario and Daisy's bed. "What's that game my mommy and your daddy are pwaying?"  
"Hmm..." thought Baby Mario, observing the scene. "I dunno, but it looks like fun!"  
"Yeah! Wanna pway it, too?"  
"OK! Hmm... Do you wanna be the mommy or the daddy?"  
"Umm... I don't care. You pick!"  
"OK. I think it looks like the daddy's supposed to be on top, so I'll be the daddy!"  
"OK. Let's pway mommy and daddy's game! Wee!"

* * *

"OK. Está bien. Está bien... Yo creo que este carrito está perfecto!"  
Justin shimmied his way out from underneath the 3rd DK Jumbo he'd inspected that night. Now being fully aware of the devastating accidents that had been happening, Justin was following Mario's orders to make sure every vehicle was in tip-top shape for the Daisy Cruiser race happening the next day. Since Paratroopa seemed to have just completely forgotten that he was the head automechanic, Justin was finding himself doing most of the work. He certainly seemed far more devoted to this task than any of his fellow Repair Guys, who'd long since settled down for the night.

"Ay, Justin! Por qué trabajas tan tarde?" asked one of them.  
"Porque Mario insiste en que todos los carritos estén en condición perfecta! Es muy importante!"

"Pues, claro! Pero no tienes que trabajar tan duro."  
"Ay, idiota! No conoces de la mierda que está pasando? Hay corredores muriendo!"  
"Sí, lo sabemos, ese. Pero solamente el primero accidente pasó a causa de un desplome de carro. Los otros no."  
"Ay, pero en el segundo, el Waluigi Kart estaba roto. Mario lo me dijo."  
"Oh, verdad?"  
"Sí. Es verdad."  
"Hmm... Yo estaba seguro que todos los Waluigi Karts estaban en condición buena..."  
"Yo también, pero no."  
"...Pues, está bien. Podemos ayudarte."  
"Oh, sí?"  
"Claro, lechón de pene!"  
"Oh, gracias a ustedes! Pero, si soy lechón de pene, eres comedor de pene, está bien?"

With that, all the Repair Guys got up off their lazy butts and began to inspect the vehicles with extra care. Despite the fact that malfunctioning karts hadn't been the direct cause of injury or death in the Mushroom Bridge or DK Mountain disasters, it was still something that needed to be taken care of. After all, the Turbo Yoshi's loose wheel and the Waluigi Kart stalling on Mushroom Bridge could've been avoided if they'd just been a bit more careful...

As Justin was tightening the tire bolts of one of the Bloom Coaches, he happened to look outside of one on the DDG windows and saw some red and blue lights flashing on the exterior of the nearby Double Dash HQ building. He stopped what he was doing and walked over to the window to see. Upon closer observation, he saw it was a police car that had stopped in the parking lot outside the building. He watched as a Squeek officer exited the vehicle and began to walk across the parking lot in the direction of the Resting Quarters. A police officer? What was he doing there?  
Justin then noticed something in the officer's hand. Something that made his mind flash with odd and frightening memories of recent events.  
A dagger.  
A dagger with a small memo attached to the handle...

Making sure his brethren was still at work inspecting and repairing all the karts, Justin quietly walked over and slipped out the DDG's front door. He needed to speak with the officer at all costs. He didn't know why, but it made him feel uneasy knowing that the fat man who'd intruded in Toad's office that night would once again have access to this memo. That then made Justin wonder - the fat man had left the dagger and the note for the President Toad to find, right? Did he see it? So how did this police officer end up with it? Had something happened to Toad?

Justin ran across the dark parking lot towards the Squeek officer. When the officer saw him running at him, he quickly dropped the dagger and pulled out his gun, aiming it directly at Justin's head. "Freeze!"  
Surprised, Justin immediately stopped and threw his arms in the air, indicating he meant no harm.  
"Who are you?" asked the officer roughly.

'Who... are you?' Justin had heard that particular English phrase before, but he didn't quite know what it meant. He could only talk and hope the officer understood. "Por favor, oficial. Me llamo Justin. Soy un automecánico del equipo de Double Dash. Baje su arma de fuego. No tire Ud."  
The Squeek officer seemed to understand at least a little bit of what Justin was saying. He at least understood the part about not firing and putting the gun down, because he did just that. "Umm..." he said, searching for the right words, "Tú hablas espaZol?"  
"Sí. Lo hablas también?"  
"Umm... estoy aprendiendo." The officer then reached down and picked up the knife and memo. Justin stared at them intently.

"Umm... Hola. Me llamo Officer Tiko. Y Ud?"  
"Me llamo Justin."  
"Está bien, Justin. Umm... Por qué me hablas?"  
Justin realized Officer Tiko was strugglin a bit with his Spanish, so Justin tried to keep his own as simple as possible. "Ehh... Antes que constesto, tengo que preguntar - dónde hallaste ese cuchillo y nota?"  
Officer Tiko had to let Justin's words sink into his brain a little before he finally got what he said. "Oh, umm... Estos objectos estaban en el, umm... bolsillo del cuerpo de Toad."  
"El... cuerpo de Toad?"  
"Sí. Está muerto."  
Justin was shocked. Toad had died?! When? How? "Ay, verdad? Está muerto? Cómo murió?  
Again, Officer Tiko hesitated, trying to find the correct words. "...He confirado el suicidio."  
"...El suicidio?"  
"Correcto."  
"Aye aye aye..."

Officer Tiko looked down at the knife and note in his hands - the knife and note he claimed to have found in Toad's pocket while he lay dead. Dead as a result of suicide.

"...Yo vengo por decir a los corredores que Toad está muerto. Y, umm... tengo que preguntar sobre estos. Son nuestras solas pistas..."  
Justin had a bad feeling about allowing Officer Squeek just barge in on the team and telling them this news while asking about this dagger and memo. Justin himself was probably the only one who anything about these objects anyway - aside from the fat man, of course. Justin had the idea that maybe he could take these things for himself and show them to Mario in private. It would certainly help to keep things more discreet...

"Senor Tiko, estás consado. Permítame a tomar estos objectos para ti. Tú vas a casa ahora. Puedo mostrar estos a los corredores. Me conocen bien. Confían en me."  
Normally, Officer Tiko would've rejected Justin's offer to bring these items to the Double Dash team himself. He couldn't just hand over this only piece of evidence to this supposed automechanic, could he? Well, he WAS feeling overly tired and depressed that night, seeing as Toad had just died and all. Therefore, he decided to go along with it.  
"Está bien..." replied Officer Tiko groggily, handing the knife and memo to Justin. "Se los da para mi, OK?"  
"OK," replied Justin, taking the objects in his hand. "Ten una noche buena, Senor Tiko."

"Y Ud," Officer Tiko called back before climbing into his cruiser and driving back towards the city.

Once the red and blue flashing lights vanished, Justin began to study the note carefully. He remembered that night - the fat man had pulled a document out of Toad's desk drawer, examined a poster on his wall, checked something on his computer, and even tried to stab Toad in his sleep with this very knife. He then remembered the fat man having stabbed the knife into the desk, thereby pinning the document down, and then writing the memo and attaching it to the blade's handle...  
So where was that document now? It had a picture of DK Mountain and many rolling boulders...

Well, that probably didn't matter. What did matter was this memo. Was it the memo's message that had prompted Toad to commit suicide, Justin wondered? It very well could've been, and he still couldn't understand what it said, because it was in English. He would have to ask Mario. Of course, if this message was really that powerful, he was worried about what it might do of he did do that...  
Still, he had to. But when was a good time?

Justin stared at the knife and memo in his hands. The blade must've been six inches long, with a black handle and a stainless steel finish that glistened in the moonlight. A true murderer's weapon.  
And the memo, tied to the weapon's handle with a red string. The message itself was only two words long - the first being merely the letter "I". What did that lone letter mean in English, Justin wondered? And the second word - it was a four-letter word started with a 'K'. The letter 'K' pretty much didn't exist in Spanish, so Justin was at a loss there, too. Indeed, Mario was his only hope...

As Justin stared at the items in his hand, he began to feel muy importante! There was actually something great he could do to help Double Dash other than fix the karts and clean the toilets in the Mess Hall. Maybe he'd even get a raise! "Que padre!" he exclaimed to himself as he ran towards the Resting Quarters to speak with Mario about the clues he possessed.

Upon reaching the Resting Quarters door, Justin stopped. What time was it? It must have been about 1 in the morning by that point. None of them would be awake... but that was a good thing! He would just have to wake up Mario, and no one else would have to know! Well, maybe the fat man should be awake for it as well... but that was something Mario could take care of. All Justin had to do was entrust these things to Mario and allow them all to sort out the rest.

Justin carefully opened up the door and crept in. Indeed, everyone was fast asleep. He had to do a bit of silent searching to find the bed Mario was in...  
While he was walking, he stepped on what felt like a piece of cloth on the ground. Looking down, Justin found it to be Mario's hat. He'd recognize it anywhere. He didn't seem to notice that along with the hat was also a shirt, some shoes, a pair of overalls... All that mattered was that Mario must be in that very bed! Thinking little of it, Justin carefully tapped the body that was under the covers.  
The body turned out to be Mario's, who sprang up into a seating position in alarm. This caused Justin to stumble back in surprise. However, Justin was even more surprised to see Mario's bare chest flashing right there in front of his face. Mario, too, was surprised to see a Repair Guy staring at his bare chest. It was hard to tell which one was more shocked, but it was an awkward moment for sure.

Mario quickly came to his senses and covered up his body with the blanket once again he remained sitting upright. He stared into Justin's mask. "Who are you?! What are you doing here this late?!"  
"Lo siento, Mario. Soy yo, Justin. Soy el Repair Guy que pediste a guardar al garaje. Recuerdas en mi?"  
Mario had to recall for a second, but then seemed to remember the name. "Oh, Justin. Umm... Qué haces aquí? Y por qué llevas ese cuchillo?"  
Justin held up the knife with the notice attached. "Su amigo gordo... El uno que lleva la ropa amarilla... Él trató de matar a Toad con este cuchillo. Pero, yo lo paré, y él solo dejó el cuchillo y esta nota en la oficina por Toad a hallar. Confía en mi, por favor. Yo vi todos."

Mario couldn't quite believe what Justin was saying. The fat friend in yellow clothes... Wario? Justin was saying Wario had tried to kill Toad with that knife, but Justin stopped him, thereby making Wario leave the knife and the attached memo for Toad to find. But... that was unbelievable!  
"Cuando pasó ese?" Mario asked.  
"Anoche. A la medianoche."

It had happened the previous night night... But wait! Didn't Wario say he'd tried to go into Toad's office to murder him, yet he didn't remember exactly what happened in there? Maybe what Justin was saying was true! And if that was the case... Then whatever had caused Wario to forget, it hadn't taken Justin into account! He still remembered what happened! Thrilled with this opportunity for answers, Mario turned to Justin once more. "Qué pasó en la oficina de Toad anoche, exactamente?"  
"Yo no sé, exactamente," Justin admitted. "Yo buscaba cosas en el armario cuando vi el hombre gordo entró en la oficina. Él miró un papel, examinó un cartel, y miró a la computadora. No sé que él estaba mirando, pero no se parecó muy felíz..."  
Mario tried to piece together what Justin was telling him. So Wario had broken into Toad's office, looked at some paper, looked at some poster, looked at some computer, and didn't look to happy about what he was seeing. And then, he tried to kill Toad? Hmm...

Mario would've asked more questions about that night, but right then, he had a much bigger one. "Por qué tienes tú ese cuchillo y nota?"  
"No importante," Justin insisted. "Pero debes saber que estos objectos estaban el bolsillo del cuerpo de Toad..."  
Mario looked down, as though reminded of the painful fact that Toad had died just earlier that night. "Oh... Así, creo que Toad los halló la próxima manana."  
"Sí, yo creo..."  
Mario looked at the note that was tied to the knife's handle. "Justin, me permite a ver esa nota?"  
Justin nodded, and carefully handed the blade to Mario. "Sí, claro. Yo quería preguntarte sobre esa."  
Mario nodded in return and took the knife. He then lifted the dangling memo to his face to read the two-letter message. Upon reading it, Mario appeared to become stricken with utter confusion. This only intrigued Justin more.  
"Qué está escrito?" Justin asked.  
Mario looked back at Justin, that puzzled look still molded in his features. "No comprendo... Dice algo como... 'Yo sé', o 'yo conozco'. En ingles... 'I know'."  
Mario looked at the memo again. The memo that, evidently, prompted Toad to commit his terrible suicide:

**I KNOW**

"Qué carajo?" Justin wondered, who was confused now as well. "Quién? El hombre gordo? Qué sabe él?"  
Really, who was the speaker of the message supposed to be? Wario? What was it that he supposedly 'knew'?

Mario merely shook his head. He was too tired to think about it right then. "Ay... Lo siento, Justin, pero yo no sé. Y, a ser honesto, no es tu problema. No tienes que tener miedo o nada."  
Justin was about to argue, but then realized Mario made a good point. As much as he may have wanted to help, it really wasn't his problem. He'd wanted to help, and by delivering this important message to Mario, he had. There was nothing more that was to be expected of him. He was just an automechanic, after all...  
"Gracias por tu servicio, Justin," Mario moaned, ready to go back to sleep.  
"De nada," Justin said, beginning to head out the door. Before leaving, though, he noticed Daisy lying in the bed next to Mario's. "Tu esposa?" he asked.  
Mario stared at Daisy's sleeping body for a second, then answered hesitantly, "...Sí. Mi esposa..."  
"Ah. Ella es bonita. Y caliente..." Justin muttered before waving good-bye and walking out the door.

After Justin was gone, Mario climbed out of Daisy's bed, grabbed his clothes, and began to walk over to his own. All the while, his mind was busy with thoughts - mainly thoughts of Wario. If what Justin said was true, Wario had seen some odd things in Toad's office that night that had made him want to murder Toad. Perhaps he normally would've kept the deal somewhat discreet, but no... he would say something to Wario the next day. He would tell him Justin's accounts and jog his memory of exactly what he saw that night in Toad's office. Ask exactly what it was he 'knew'. If he 'knew' so much then, why did he not remember any of it now? Yes, Wario had quite a bit to reveal...  
As Mario climbed into his bed, he carefully slid the knife and notice underneath his bed, and then attempted to get to sleep. However, he just couldn't. Something was making him feel uneasy, and it wasn't the Wario/Justin scandal.  
He looked over at the bed next to his... And saw Luigi, sleeping soundly. Had his eyes been open, he'd have been staring directly into Mario's eyes.  
Mario then looked back at the bed in which Daisy slept...  
And let out a heavy, tear-filled sigh as he finally lay himself to deep sleep...


	7. Day 6

**Day 6**

**_2 Days Remain..._**

**_--_**

Petey Pirahna opened his huge maw and let out a gurgled yawn as he rose out of bed the following morning. Man, he'd slept like a bud that night (Get it? Bud? He's a flower! Oh, the wit!). His huge head was just swirling with activity lately - something that was rare for him. All this brain activity just made him so tired lately.  
Shaking his head, he threw his blanket off his body and leapt off the bed. However, looking around, he immediately noticed something wasn't right. It was only about 7 am, and as mentioned sometime before, he was usually the first one awake out of anyone. He was shocked to see nearly every bed in the place empty. The only ones who were still sound asleep in their beds were Daisy, Yoshi, Waluigi, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi. Where had all the others gone? Mario, Luigi, Birdo, DK, Bowser, Wario, King Boo, and Toadette? All their beds were empty, the covers thrown off as though they had been in a hurry to leave.  
His gaze then settled on the neatly made beds that had once belonged to Diddy Kong, Koopa, Bowser Jr, and Peach...  
And then his mind went to Toad, and the strange phone conversation he'd had with Mr V the night before concerning his suicide...

Petey had to put a leaf to his head to console his troubled mind. What was going on? Just a week before, this place was so full of energy and happy-go-lucky feelings. Now it was just so... empty. These Resting Quarters, which on any other day at this hour, should've housed 19 happy and comfortable racers. But this morning... including himself, the number had declined to 6. It made him worry so much that he nearly toppled back onto his bed.

However, he forced himself to stand upright. All the racers had to be up and about somewhere. He figured it wouldn't hurt to go out and have a look around. After all, where could everyone possibly be at this time of morning? Slipping into a clean pair of polka-dot hot pants, Petey walked for the Resting Quarters door and walked out, careful not to disturb the rest of those who were still asleep.

The sun was just beginning to rise at the moment Petey stepped outside. Sunrise was Petey's favorite time of day for some stupid reason. Regardless, he began to walk on his stubby green legs across the Double Dash HQ parking lot, hoping to catch a glimpse of at least one of his fellow racers. He wasn't sure who he'd find, or what they might be doing, but anyone or anything would suffice. He was just so worried about everyone.

As Petey passed the Mess Hall, he thought he saw some motion coming from the side of the building that was obstructed by its morning shadow. Leaning over a bit, Petey could see a large body backing two others against the building wall. One of the cornered bodies glowed with a white ephemeral light. Petey knew right away - King Boo. So who were the other two, then? Awfully curious, Petey waddled over to the building, flattened himself against the wall, and peered around the corner at the scene.

There he saw Bowser, cornering King Boo and a cowering Wario against the Mess Hall wall. He looked absolutely furious. Petey knew right away that this had to be something to do with Bowser Jr's death. After all, Wario and King Boo were the ones who had caused it to happen. Looks like Bowser was now finally doing something to them about it.

"I swear to God, Wario... I will grab your throat with both my hands and dig my thumb claws into your goddamn neck if you don't tell me WHY!!"  
"Honest, Bowser!" Wario pleaded. "I was only doing what Mr V was urging me to do! I couldn't argue! And I didn't mean for Bowser Jr to get in the way of it all. We were going after Toad! You have to believe me!"  
"You've already TOLD me all that! I'm asking why did you want to kill Toad? That's obviously the reason you saw fit to roll a fuggin' flaming boulder down a fuggin' mountain that crushed my Jr!"  
"I'm sorry Bowser. I can't remember why."  
"Well for God's sake, TRY to remember!!"  
"I am!!"  
"WELL TRY HARDER!! I am _this _close to ramming my shell into your face!!"  
"...If you want to know why , you're just gonna have to ask Mr V. Really Bowser, that's the plain truth. No way around it."  
"OK, so why did you actually_ listen_ to that freak?!"  
"Hey, what was I supposed to do? The guy's a fuckin' wizard or something! I sure as hell would bet YOU'D listen if he ordered you to do something!"  
"Not if it meant killing my kid!"

"GODAMMIT!! I WASN'T TRYING TO KILL YOUR KID!!"

Bowser looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, he bore his deadly fangs and snarled loudly. He clenched his claws into fists, for whatever reason resisting the urge to rip Wario to shreds.  
"Why did you drag me out here again?" King Boo inadvertently asked.

"Because, freakshow," Bowser replied roughly, "It was YOUR stupid fire boulder that ran over my kid! It's YOUR fault for listening to Tubby here that Mr V wanted Toad killed or whatever! What the HELL made you listen to this guy?"  
King Boo shrugged lightly. "Mr V scares me?"  
Bowser slapped his forehead with his hand and roared loudly. Goodness, he was frustrated, and Petey really couldn't blame him. Still, what did Bowser hope to get out of interrogating these two like this?

"I'm gonna kill you both..." Bowser finally muttered.  
Wario seemed horribly frightened by this comment, even if he tried to hide it. He tightened his fists and looked around nervously.  
King Boo, however, didn't react at all. "I'm already dead, genius."  
Bowser looked at him with an annoyed face. "Hmph. Good point... Ah, but lo! Look at this!" Bowser reached into his shell and pulled out a small vial of what looked like water. "See this? SEE THIS?!" Bowser mocked, shaking the bottle in King Boo's face. "Yeah, know what this is? It's holy water!"  
King Boo's eyes shot open and looked at the vial in terror. "Gah! NO!!"  
"Oh yeah!" Bowser shouted excitedly, popping off the cap. "Ya want some? Huh, ya spectral piece of crap? Huh? WANT SOME!?" Bowser began flinging droplets of holy water all over King Boo, who hissed and screamed as it burned his nonexistent skin.  
"AAAYYYEEEEE!! IT BUUURNS!!" he screeched.  
"Yeah, how ya like THAT?!" Bowser laughed. "Uh-huh! The Power of Christ compels you, ya bastard!"  
Petey couldn't help but laugh at this whole scenario, as raunchy as it might have been.

Bowser finally ran out of holy water to douse King Boo with and put the vial away, leaving King Boo to writhe in seething pain. ""Ooooogh..." he moaned to himself. "That's the kinda pain that makes me wanna cross over..."  
"May as well," Bowser snarled, feeling content with the punishment King Boo had gotten. "You'd be doing the world a big favor if you did..."  
At that point, Bowser looked about ready to walk away, but he turned to Wario one last time, a flame of dark justice in his eye.  
"Watch yourself, Wario..." were his last words before storming off, leaving the two victims alone to stand in shame. They stood there for a while, then looked at each other, then eventually began to make their way back to the Resting Quarters. As for Bowser's destination, it was unknown.

Petey began to feel nervous again, after the episode he'd just seen. Could this be the brewing of another accident? Could Bowser be planning on sabotaging Wario in the coming race? Oh, what if it were true? Not another accident! It just couldn't happen, not with the Rainbow World Cup happening in just two more days...  
Petey had to go to the President's office right away, and warn Toad of the possible coming disaster!  
...But then, almost immediately afterwards, Petey slapped his face with his leafy hands. Toad was dead! He couldn't do much about it.  
Petey then remembered the phone conversation he'd had with Mr V the previous night. Mr V said he'd be moving up from the position of Vice President to President as a result of Toad's death, didn't he? Yes, of course! Petey could just go up to the President's office and talk to Mr V and-!

Petey slapped his face with his leaves again. C'mon, he couldn't be serious with himself! _Talk_ to Mr V?? He remembered all the creepy rumors about Mr V, and how he only communicated via the phone because he was some kind of shape shifter or alien that would make you die if you saw him or something. He couldn't recall what the tales said, exactly, but he knew they depicted the man as, well... not really a man at all. Regardless, he couldn't just go up there and speak with him...

Petey then looked up at the Double Dash HQ building, and gazed at the window of what used to be Toad's office. The window of the President's office. The window of the room Mr V just might be in right then.  
No way Petey could just go up and talk to him...  
Could he...?

Petey's big flowery head hurt from thinking about what he should do. Go up and talk to Mr V, or not? Risk another accident happening, or not? Gah! It was too much pressure for a Pirahna Plant like him!  
In his self-debating, Petey eventually looked up at the President's Office window...  
It made him wonder... maybe, if he looked at just the right angle, he could get just a glimpse of what Mr V truly looked like. Maybe, if he could align the light of the rising sun just right, it could be possible...  
Petey eventually nodded confidently to himself. He'd made his decision - he was gonna go up and talk to Mr V face to face. After all, the man was now their President. No one should be afraid to talk to their President, no matter what they happened to be President of! His stance firm, Petey waddled across the parking lot towards the front doors of the Double Dash HQ...

Upon entering the building, Petey began ascending the stairs. He hadn't been to the President's Office in a long time, but he still more or less remembered where it was. Once he reached the top of the stairs, he began to walk down the hallway, keeping his eye out for the President's Office.  
On the way, he passed a door he didn't recognize. On the door, in bold black letter, were the words 'VICE PRESIDENT'. How long had that been there? He hadn't been in this building in a long time, but still... Mr V had been the Vice President for so long. Had he really been working in that very room the entire time? How strange... And to Petey, that man had always seemed to be so distant, even when hearing his voice on the phone. It sounded like he could've been calling from Pluto or something. It was almost kind of creepy knowing he'd been doing his operations so nearby for almost 3 years now...

Shaking this corruptive dust off his brain, Petey continued on. Passing the Mechanical Closet, he eventually came to the next door - the one labeled 'PRESIDENT'. The one he'd been looking for. The one Mr V himself was beyond at that very moment...Petey inhaled and exhaled deeply several times. He was about to speak to the figure that had been so long speculated and feared by himself and his fellow racers for so long. A moment that would certainly make history!  
And yet, as excited as he might have felt, he couldn't help but experience a true anxiety rising up his stem (Get it? Stem? He's a flower! Oh, the foliage puns!)  
In all seriousness, though, Petey really was nervous. Could all those rumors and stories be true? That if he walked in on Mr V, he'd see what Mr V truly was, and then mysteriously die? That myth stated that you had to be speaking with him on the phone while you walked into his office for that to happen, though. Therefore, Petey pondered if the effects would be more or less horrifying if he simply walked in as things were...

For some reason he couldn't comprehend, Petey just did not seem to fear his possible death at that moment. If poor Diddy, Koopa, Bowser Jr, and Toad could endure the passing into the afterlife, why couldn't he? If anything, he was doing this for them...

Yes, he needed to be bold. Petey was going to be meeting Mr V's no doubt fearsome gaze in a matter of seconds, and vice-versa, and the thought didn't frighten him a single bit. Not anymore. He was going to open that door!  
Feeling ready, Petey grasped the doorknob to the President's Office with his leafy arm.  
He twisted it until it stopped...  
And, without a second thought, swung the door inwards and looked in.

When Petey saw what was sitting at the desk, he screamed louder than he'd ever screamed before. Goodness, it was horrible!

That stout, pink body, with that horrible pink and white mushroom on its head, and those especially horrible pink braids hanging down that looked just like little mushrooms themselves! Horrible! Just HORRIBLE!!

Petey continued to stand there and scream at the top of his lungs for several seconds. Toadette, who was sitting at the desk, covered her ears to block it out. What the hell was Petey screaming for?! He was screaming louder than the time he learned Bush got elected for a second term - and they didn't even live in America!

"PETEY!!" she yelled over his cries. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"

It took a minute for Petey to finally settle down.  
It took longer for him to realize that he wasn't dying upon seeing Mr V.

It took him even longer to realize that Mr V looked just like Toadette...  
Unfortunately, that was all Petey found out on his own. Toadette had to help him out with the rest.  
"Petey, it's just me, Toadette! What's the matter?" she asked.

Petey frowned in confusion, and stared at her in bewilderment. After letting his big mouth hang open for a second, he finally managed to utter a statement in plant talk.  
"Mr V...?" she asked quietly, as though she were afraid someone would hear. "...You thought I was... him?"  
Petey nodded.  
Toadette then immediately realized the misunderstanding. "Oh... I see now. Mr V told me he called you last night. He told you that he was moving up to the position of President, right?"  
Petey smiled slightly and nodded.  
"Yeah, well, you see... Mr V talked to me last night too. He said he wanted me to be the new Vice President of Double Dash."  
Petey frowned again, puzzled. He grunted a question.  
"Well, he said that despite the fact that he was now officially President, he still preferred to work in the Vice President's office. So, I decided to come and work here in the President's Office, even though I'm only Vice."  
Petey nodded in understanding.

It was now Toadette's turn to ask questions. "So, Petey Pirahna, as the new Vice President of Double Dash, I'll assist however I can. How can I help you?"  
Petey immediately remembered why he'd come up with hopes of talking to Mr V in the first place. He went on to explain how Bowser threatened to get back at Wario for causing Bowser Jr's death, despite the fact that it had all been an accident on Wario's part. He then stated his speculations that this threat could very well be the set up for another accident on the Daisy Cruiser race that was happening that very day.  
When Petey was done, Toadette just stared at the floor, saying nothing. She appeared to be thinking very hard about something.

After a long while, Petey spoke up. Toadette looked at him seriously. "No Petey... We're not canceling the race."  
Petey continued to try and argue, but Toadette promptly stopped him. "Petey, please. We just have to let things happen as they will. It's the only way my brother's sacrifice won't be in vain..."  
Petey was about to protest to that statement, but then remembered... Hadn't Mr V said almost the exact same thing to Petey in his phone call last night? That they basically had to listen to him in order for Toad's suicide to have its purposed effect on them all?

Petey eventually nodded and agreed with Toadette. He was still worried about what might happen on Daisy Cruiser, and what Bowser might do to get back at Wario like he threatened. However, in the end, they found they really couldn't argue with what Mr V said. Not just for their own sakes, but for Toad's, as well. If what Mr V said was true, then they should just let destiny take its course, and Toad's death would somehow shed light on all their lives...  
But was it true? As strange as it may have been, Petey and Toadette felt that Mr V, in one way or another, could be trusted...

Petey then asked one more question in Pirahna language.  
Toadette nodded. "Yeah, he's still in the Vice President's office. But, do us both a favor, and just steer clear. There's no need to see him face-to-face. Trust me."  
Petey nodded in agreement, though he was secretly a bit disappointed. He actually kind of hoped to see Mr V, even if it meant certain death right afterwards...  
Ah well. For now, he and Toadette had to get prepped for the big race, and just hope that fate would lead them in the right direction from then on...

* * *

It was nearly noon. Every team had wheeled their respective kart onto Daisy's Cruiser and were heading for the starting line. It had set sail and was now floating the designated distance from the shore to begin the race...

The foghorn of the Daisy Cruiser blew loudly, indicating that the ship was now at the correct distance from the shore and the race was ready to commence.  
The teams that day weren't exactly what everyone was used to. Birdo had evidently volunteered to team up with Mario and race with him in the Red Fire. Mario didn't seem to mind, nor did he question Birdo's volunteering to race with him. His mind seemed to be completely elsewhere that day.  
Since Petey and Waluigi had been such a good team in the DK Mountain race together, they decided to pair up once again for this race, riding in their victory kart, the Boo Pipes. This forced Wario and King Boo to be a duo once again.  
Luigi and DK, strangely enough, had decided to pair up for this race. Therefore, Daisy and Bowser had no choice but to race with each other. Daisy wasn't too thrilled about being teams with Bowser, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he was hardly paying any attention to the upcoming race - all his attention appeared to be on Wario and King Boo.  
Toadette and Paratroopa saw fit to be a duo for this race.  
The only two that remained true to their actual partners this time around were the two babies.  
Lastly, Yoshi decided to watch the race from the upper deck pool. He got himself an inner tube and a Coconutter martini, and got ready to watch the fun.

A strange aura had settled upon the racers at the starting line that day. There appeared to be no excitement or positive energy among any of them. Normally, the anticipation of the thrill of racing was so present it was almost palpable, but not today. If anything was palpable in the air at all, it was fear. They were no longer racing to have fun like in the good old days - they were racing because they had to, and they knew it. The knowledge that one of them would likely get hurt, or even die, was the true source of the darkness that plagued their minds. They had to finish this race, and just pray to God that fate would spare them, at least for today. At least for this one race. They were all secretly begging the higher beings to postpone their death for another day. Another race. Just not today...

"Alright!" Toadette shouted, breaking everyone out of their trances, "I have an announcement to make. Being Toad's sister, I know the inner workings of Mario Kart Double Dash better than any of us, and have therefore been assigned position of Vice President of the Double Dash team!"  
No one really saw fit to argue with this, and even if they had, it just wouldn't have been worth it. Therefore, they all gave a short, rather unenthusiastic applause. Toadette couldn't really blame them - had she been in their position, she probably would've cared less as well.  
"Well," she continued, "Since Lakitu is still labeled as missing, I'll initiate the countdown..."  
Realizing the coming blitz, everyone revved up their engines and got ready...

_3..._

_2__..._

_1__..._..

_**START!!**_

_VVVRRRRRRRROOOOMMMMM!!_  
Every driver promptly floored their gas pedals and took off. Almost immediately, Petey and Waluigi were able to pull ahead, snagging the position of first in record time! Not too far behind them was the tandem of Daisy and Bowser, followed closely by Toadette and Paratroopa. Wario and King Boo were barely driving down the first small staircase by the time Petey and Waluigi were already descending the curved staircase, but they were holding up OK.

The other teams, however, were falling behind terribly. The babies were falling behind mainly because they had decided to try their hand at driving the Parade Kart, lest they use it for the Rainbow World Cup the following day. However, they found it way harder to control than they'd thought, and were thus crashing into every other wall. "Oh well," Baby Mario told his younger cousin, "Now we know this car's bad. We race in the Goo Goo Buggy tomowwow!"  
"Yeah! This car stinks!" Baby Luigi uttered, sticking out his tongue. "Goo Goo Buggy FTW!"

The reasoning behind the ther two teams' falling behind, though, was but a mystery. Birdo, who was driving the Red Fire, seemed to be going at a rather steady pace for being in a high-speed kart race, much to Mario's dismay. "Hey Birdo," he said as politely as he possibly could, "Could you speed up a little? Try and catch us up!"  
Birdo, however, did not reply, and merely continued driving along at her brisk pace.

Luigi and DK were driving just as moderately fast as Birdo and Mario. Luigi, who was driving, almost seemed to be keeping an eye on his speedometer to make sure he was going the same speed. DK made no attempt to order Luigi to speed up.  
The behavior of the surrounding racers struck Mario as very odd. As they rounded the pool that Yoshi was lounging in, even he seemed to notice something wasn't right. He looked at Mario as though asking, "Yo! What's up?!"  
Beginning to feel a bit nervous, Mario stole a glance at Luigi, who was only a few feet over. He wasn't sure how he expected Luigi to meet his gaze, but he was shocked to see Luigi giving him a rather cold eye before quickly turning away. The look struck Mario profoundly. There was such a flash of hate in his glance... what hidden meaning could there have been in it?  
Mario's train of thought was derailed when the Red Fire suddenly came to a stop - right on the curved staircase leading down to the lower deck. Bewildered, Mario looked down, and saw Birdo had slammed on the brakes! More anxious now than ever, Mario tapped her roughly on the shoulder. "Birdo, what's the matter with you?! This is a race!! Did you completely forget, or what?! C'mon! DRIVE!!"  
But Birdo didn't even seem to hear him or feel him tapping on her shoulder. She merely stared out at the ocean, clearly not going to step on the gas pedal anytime soon.  
Groaning in frustration, Mario turned around in the backseat, but was surprised to see Luigi and DK had parked at the top of the staircase, and were looking down at him, like mighty gods gazing down upon an unworthy mortal who didn't deserve life. What was it about those glares they were giving him? What the hell was going on?!

A sudden loud sound made his heart skip. It was the sound of something snapping loose. Something big...  
Turning back around towards the front, Mario was shocked to find Birdo had mysteriously disappeared from the front seat of the vehicle. She had abandoned him. But why? And where had she gone? None of this was making any sense...

At that moment, another loud, metallic sound filled the air. It seemed to come from below, and Mario could've sworn he felt the stair step beneath his vehicle move ever so slightly. That sound... it reminded him of the sounds he'd heard when the Mushroom Bridge was collapsing. But what would prompt him to remember sounds like those...?

_SLAM!!_

The Red Fire was suddenly struck hard from behind! Mario nearly toppled over as the force propelled his vehicle forward, thereby causing it to bounce and roll down to the bottom of the stairs. It was so unsteady that, upon reaching the bottom step, it toppled over, causing Mario to spill out onto the deck. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt. But what on Earth had knocked him and his kart to the bottom of the staircase?  
Looking up, Mario had to smile when he saw it to be none other than his own baby son and nephew, struggling to control their big golden kart. They had zoomed past Luigi and DK (who were still stopped at the top of the staircase) and accidentally rammed the Red Fire from behind. They had now head-on collided with the staircase rail and were trying to pull themselves out and face forward down the stairs again. Mario almost laughed at the scene, despite the strange events that had been happening since the race began...

That loud sound then snapped through the air again.  
Mario was sure of it now - it was coming from beneath the staircase. Perhaps from the staircase itself.  
The same sounds from the collapsing Mushroom Bridge..._Could it be...?_

Mario then stared up at the two infants with a crazed look of fear. He knew right then and there that the staircase wasn't safe, and the babies were still on it! But how was it possible? He'd woken up early that morning and did a thorough inspection of the boat, just like he'd promised Daisy the night before. He'd even checked this staircase, and there was nothing wrong with it! But now...That loud sound rang again.  
Mario had no time to lose. He had to do act fast!

Mario could worry about what Luigi and DK were doing and where Birdo was in a second. However, right now, his main concern was the babies. He wasn't sure what was going to happen to the staircase they were on, but it couldn't be good!

Gathering up his courage, Mario placed one foot lightly on the bottom step. Convinced that it felt secure enough, he clenched his fists, breathed deeply, and began to run up the steps as fast as he could. While he ran, he kept his eyes on the two infants, who were still bumping their unwieldy kart into the guardrail, completely oblivious to the danger beneath them. As a matter of fact, not even he knew what the danger was. He knew it was there, though, and he needed to get the babies out of there before it could take its toll on them all.

Once Mario reached the Parade Kart, he leapt in, landing on his belly. He struggled to stand up, and once he did, he quickly undid the safety tethers of both babies, then snatched Baby Mario up in one arm and Baby Luigi in the other.  
"Daddy?" Baby Mario asked, confused.  
"Yeah. Daddy's gotcha. Don't worry," Mario said before preparing to jump out of the kart and run down the stairs to safety.

However, he was too late. Another deafening _SNAP!!_ split the air...  
And suddenly, the entire right side of the staircase began to fall over! The guardrail was dislodged in the collapsation too, causing the Parade Kart to roll right off the edge. Mario screamed as the kart suddenly dropped off the sloping staircase onto the deck below. He struggled to keep his balance, for he feared dropping the babies on the deck might subject them to being crushed by the falling staircase. Therefore, he forced himself to stay standing while holding onto the babies as tight as he could. However, even after the kart dropped onto the deck, it continued to roll - right towards the guardrail of the ship's edge itself. Mario, who still hadn't quite regained his footing, could do nothing except prepare for the impact...

_CRASH!!_

The Parade Kart slammed hard into the guardrail! Mario was thrown forward roughly, his torso slamming right into it. As he'd feared, the jolt had caused him to lose his grasp of the babies in his arms. Upon slamming the guardrail, they were thrown from his arms - right over the edge!  
Thankfully, despite his crippled state, Mario was able to reach out and grab each baby by their tiny hands before they fell too far. It was nothing short of a miracle, but he had saved them!  
However, something had really been ruptured in his torso upon impact, for Mario couldn't find the strength to pull the babies back up. He could only stare down, looking at their frightened expressions as they hung 50 feet over the churning ocean. Mario knew that if they fell, there would be little hope for them...  
He gazed down into the pleading eyes of his nephew, Baby Luigi.  
And then into the eyes of his own son, Baby Mario.  
"Daddy!" he cried. "Daddy! We're weally, weally high! Don't let us fall!"  
"Uncy Mawio!" Baby Luigi shouted in response. "We're too little to learn how to swim!"  
"Don't worry...!" Mario groaned. "I'll pull you up...!"  
Mario then converted every last bit of strength in his body to his arms, and began to pull. He was struggling so hard that he was already sweating. However, miraculously, he was pulling them up! Yes! He was going to rescue them!

What happened next, however, was something Mario couldn't explain. Perhaps a piece of the collapsing staircase behind him had been propelled from the wreckage in some wild feat of physics, but he suddenly felt the sensation of a metal beam being thrust into his back. Mario screamed in pain as he felt the flesh on his back being pierced as if by a blunt sword. The pain shot through his body and into his arms, and by some nervous reflex, opened his hands.  
The babies cried for mercy the entire way down before plunging feet first into the salty sea below.  
Mario stared down in fear, but did not see the babies resurface...

In a fit of panic, Mario reached behind him and threw aside the metal object that had struck him in the back. He didn't care what it was, nor did he bother to look. Both the front and back of his torso were throbbing in pain, but his adrenaline was beginning to kick in. He looked up where the top of the former staircase once was, and saw Luigi and DK still sitting up there. However, Luigi's face was no longer full of mystery and anger, but rather of shock and anxiety. DK wore a similar expression. They were both clearly aware of what had happened, yet neither one was doing much about it.  
Mario began to climb up the wreckage that was once the curved staircase. It was still climbable as a set of stairs, for the most part, so he made it up quickly. Once there, he confronted Luigi.  
"Luigi, what the HELL are you doing?! Our sons just fell off the side of the boat!! Hurry up and help me do something!!"  
Luigi didn't say a word. He looked at Mario, then at the side of the boat, then back at Mario. He looked as though he was trying to come to a difficult decision. What decision? Mario didn't know, and his patience was withering away by the millisecond.

Luigi finally jumped from the driver's seat of his kart and stood in front of Mario. "Alright. What should we do, Mario?"  
Mario looked at DK, who was climbing out of the kart as well, and then over at Yoshi, who was climbing out of the pool after having seen the staircase collapse. Mario would need all of them to cooperate.  
"DK!" Mario ordered.  
DK stood at attention.  
"You come with me! Order all the coming racers to stop. Got it?"  
"Got it!" DK replied.

"Luigi!"

Luigi eagerly awaited his order. He was determined to save his own son.  
"Find a way to the captain's room and tell him to stop the boat! Tell him we've got children overboard!"  
"Alright!" Luigi said, not hesitating to run for the captain's quarters right away.

"Yoshi!"  
As Yoshi clambered out of the pool, he stood up on his crutches and nodded.  
"Look for Birdo! That's all!"  
Yoshi nodded once again and began to move as fast as he could along the boat deck, keeping an eye out for Birdo as he did.

Mario then motioned for DK to follow him and began to run around the pool, in the direction of the ship's rear. DK followed, ready to halt any drivers they saw coming their way.  
As the two ran across the metal catwalk leading to the starting line, they began to hear the sound of approaching vehicles. Mario stayed off the side of the track, for his sole intent was to get to the rear of the ship as fast as possible. DK, however, had no fear jumping right into the middle of the road. The first vehicle to come zooming forth was Waluigi and Petey Pirahna in the Boo Pipes. DK waved his arms and howled in attempt to stop them, but they seemed so oblivious that they drove right by, almost running him over. Once they passed, DK turned around and began yelling at them to stop. However, it was clear they weren't going to. He could only focus on stopping the karts that were coming now...  
Thankfully, every other driver had sense enough to notice DK's beckoning and stopped when he told them to. DK's strange behavior was throwing everyone into a state of alarm.  
"What's wrong, DK?" Toadette asked.  
"Babies fall off the ship!" DK screamed. "We stop boat and help them!"

Daisy's eyes grew wide when she heard this. "My baby fell off the side of the boat?!"  
"Yes!" DK cried. "And Mario's too! We go stop the boat!"  
"OH NO!!" Daisy cried in despair. She undid her safety strap, clambered out of her kart, ran over to the edge of the boat and looked off. "Where are they!?"  
Everyone else immediately ran over to search the ocean for any sign of the babies. However, they had no idea how long ago this had happened, and the boat was moving so fast. They could have been left way behind by now...  
Daisy was absolutely frantic. "COME ON!! WE HAVE TO STOP THE SHIP!!" She bolted across the deck towards the captain's quarters, where at least half the racers proceeded to follow. The rest stayed behind, looking off the side of the boat, hoping to catch a glimpse of the tiny red and green hats floating on the water...

Mario finally reached the rear of Daisy Cruiser and leaned over the rail, looking for any sign of his son or nephew in the boat's wake. He needed to know they were at least still on the surface somewhere. Then he could at least some effort to save them...  
He looked across every inch of blue and white water, but didn't see any signs of life at all. Where were they?! Had they already disappeared over the horizon? Were they still alive? Oh please, if only they were still alive...

Suddenly, something caught Mario's eye.  
An arm. A tiny red arm, poking up from beneath the white water of the boat's wake.  
Baby Mario!  
That must mean Baby Luigi was nearby as well!

Mario was overjoyed to see them, but they were in so much danger! How could he go about rescuing them now?! The boat was still moving so fast, and Luigi clearly hadn't reached the captain yet to tell him to stop the boat. At this rate, even if Luigi did manage to reach him, it would be too late. The babies would be too far away to save, or they would have drowned already...  
Mario then saw the life preserver nearby. It was attached to a fairly long rope, but it was hard to gauge exactly how much there was. Perhaps if Mario grabbed it, jumped in, and swam after the babies at that very moment, he might have just enough rope to reach them both! But that was too much of a risk... wasn't it?

Mario eventually decided it wasn't. If he waited any longer, the boat would be too far away to save them. Mario had to act now. He reached over for the life preserver and unraveled a small amount of rope. He kept his eyes on his son's flailing arms and occasionally surfacing hat. He kept appearing and disappearing beneath the white water, and he was drifting away further and further every second. Baby Luigi was still nowhere to be seen. Mario prayed he was OK.  
The babies wouldn't know to grab the life preserver if Mario threw it to them. Plus, even if they did, Mario wasn't sure if he could even throw it far enough, seeing how fast they were drifting away...

Fighting the stinging aches in his chest and back, Mario stepped boldly up onto the rail, life preserver in hand. Then, without wasting any more precious time, dove off the rear of the ship headfirst. The fall was long and frightening, and the _SPLASH_ into the ocean below was a bit rough. He was OK, but he was still so weak in his upper body that it was hard for him to stay afloat, and the churning white water of the cruiser's wake wasn't making it any easier. Mario promptly slipped his body through the life preserver and allowed it to keep him afloat. Then, mustering up all the energy he could, he began to paddle bravely through the whitewater to his son and cousin. He didn't have much rope to spare. He had to be fast!

* * *

The captain of the Daisy Cruiser was whistling to himself as he steered the giant ocean liner across the ocean. "Outside," he thought to himself, "Daisy and all her friends are having a helluva race... I'd like to do a race like that someday. Sounds like a lotta fun..."

The captain nearly fell over when he heard the sound of someone forcefully kicking the door to his room open. He quickly turned around and stood in a defensive position, but was surprised to see Daisy's husband, Luigi, standing there. His face was fraught with worry. "Ahoy there," the captain began. "What seems to be the troubl-?"  
"MEN OVERBOARD!!" Luigi interrupted loudly.  
When the captain heard this, he immediately grew serious and alert. "I'll stop the boat right away! Get someone to throw them the life preserver on the rear deck! Let's hope they can keep themselves afloat!"  
"They're BABIES!!" Luigi shouted, steeping forward forcefully. "They can't swim!!"  
The seriousness in the captain's face seemed to double. "Babies?! Oh dear! Here - I'll throw the ship's propellers into reverse! That will stop the boat much faster! Did they fall off port or starboard?"  
"What?! What's the difference?!"  
"Oh, never mind! Just get someone back there now! If they're just babies, they surely won't be able to-!"

The captain was once again interrupted by the sound of many feet approaching the room. Who then should burst in but Princess Daisy herself, a wild look in her eyes. Following her were several other racers that he'd seen before, yet didn't know personally. They were all in such a panic! It was clear they were all aware of the fact that two babies had fallen overboard.  
"Captain!!" Daisy gasped. "My son and nephew-!!"  
"Yes, I know!!" The Captain shouted, "They've gone overboard! I'm preparing to put the propellers in reverse, now get to the back of the ship and use the life preserver to fish them out! There's little more we can do than that! Now get moving!!"  
Luigi immediately obeyed, sprinting past all of the other racers out the door. Everyone else who had followed Daisy went with him too. The only one who stayed was Daisy herself. She looked like she really wanted to make sure the captain put those propellers in reverse like he'd said!

* * *

Petey and Waluigi were merrily driving through the cruiser's dining room. Waluigi, who was in the backseat, saw no one behind them. Wow, they'd really pulled ahead!  
"Alright!" Waluigi exclaimed. "Were stompin' ass today!"  
Petey made a few plant language grunts as he rode through the double doors at the end of the room.  
Waluigi scratched his chin. "Yeah... something WAS sorta wrong with that staircase, huh? Seemed kinda broken or something. Oh well. Daisy's loss. It's her boat. Besides, what do we care? We're winning! We oughtta be a team more often, Petey!"  
Petey nodded in agreement. He was now driving them past the hole that lead down to the cargo hold.

Waluigi flashed a pleased smile. "Hey Petey! Let's take the fun route!"  
Petey figured since they were so far ahead, they may as well. Being fired out the funnel was always a fun thing to do in first place! With that, he turned sharply to the right and free fell all the way down into the cargo hold. Once there, he began to drive towards the funnel's large fan.  
"Here it comes...!" Waluigi said eagerly.Petey stepped on the accelerator just as they drove underneath it, and...

_WHOOOOOOOOSHH!!_

The powerful fan blew the team and their kart straight up the funnel! Waluigi raised his hands in the air and hollered like he was on a rollercoaster. Petey opened his leaves and enjoyed the ride as well. It was no DK Cannon, but man, was shooting up that funnel fun!

* * *

The captain did look like he was doing something with the controls, but he was doing it rather slow and methodically. It was as though he was trying to be careful not to make the slightest error. Daisy was in such a fit she was losing her will to keep quiet.  
"Why are you moving so slow?!" she cried.  
The captain didn't take his eyes off his work. "It's tricky going from forward to reverse with a ship this large, now let me concentrate!"  
Daisy was in too much distress to worry about trust. "GO FASTER!! My BABY is DROWNING!!"  
"I understand that, Miss Daisy!!" the captain retaliated. "Trust me! I'm doing all I can!!"

Daisy, however, just could not calm down. "Which button or whatever puts the boat in reverse?!"

"That one," the captain replied, pointed at a green lever without a second though. "I'll do it in one second! I just have to-"  
But Daisy didn't wait for him to finish. Letting out a cry of desperation, he lunged forward and pulled hard on the lever. A loud screeching sound rang from within the hull of the ship. The captain gasped and quickly attempted to pull her away. "Miss Daisy! No!! You must calm yourself!!"  
"NOOOOO!!" was the only sound that escaped Daisy's throat as she was pulled away. After that was just the sound of her choking tears...

* * *

Petey and Waluigi could see the light of the funnel's opening approaching fast. The thrill over now, they both grabbed hold and prepared for the moment they were spit out and landed on the boat's deck.  
However, Waluigi then felt something. He felt the kart... slowing down. Slowing down? In midair? But how? The force of the fan's wind was blowing them straight out, wasn't it?

It was then Waluigi realized he was horribly mistaken. He no longer felt any air blowing on them at all. The whirring of the spinning fan could no longer be heard behind them. Their kart promptly plopped down on the very edge of the funnel's mouth. It teetered on the edge, not moving. Waluigi scratched his head and Petey looked around curiously. What was going on?

Suddenly, Waluigi began to feel the wind of the fan again...However, it wasn't blowing out as it was before. It was sucking in...  
_Sucking in?!  
_  
Waluigi turned around and cowered in fear as he saw the sharp blades far below spinning counterclockwise - the opposite direction. It was now beginning to draw them in! The Boo Pipes had begun to lean backwards and slide back down the funnel!  
Petey realized this and immediately undid his safety tether. Knowing he couldn't drive out of this, he promptly wrapped one of his leafy hands around Waluigi's arm and leapt out of the driver's seat towards the funnel's mouth. He reached out his other arm, hoping to at least grab the edge of the opening before the suction became too strong.  
Almost...  
Almost...  
Yes! Petey got it! Had he waited another second, the fan's pull would've overpowered him and sucked both him and Waluigi into a sure and painful demise. But now, he would be able to pull both himself and Waluigi out with no problem!

Petey's hopefulness in that moment was suddenly shattered when he felt something big and heavy begin to challenge his grip. Braving the frightfully strong winds, Petey slowly turned his large head and looked down the funnel to see what was going on.

Oh no... Waluigi's other arm was still fastened to the Boo Pipes by his safety tether! The large vehicle in the wind was pulling on Waluigi's arm so hard it looked like it was threatening to tear him in two. The kart was the only thing keeping them from crawling out to safety, and Waluigi just didn't have enough strength to undo the tether that kept him bound to the kart! What were they gonna do now?!  
"PETEY!!" Waluigi shouted over the roar of the fan's spinning, "H-HELP... ME!!"  
Petey roared loudly in response, but he could still feel Waluigi slipping from his leafy grasp. Waluigi had now slipped so much he was holding onto the edge of Petey's arm with his own tightly clenched fist. As the fan continued to suck stronger, Petey found his grip on the edge of the funnel's mouth was weakening too... Damn, they were in a tight spot!

Petey had little time to think about what he could do. He knew, right then and there, that he wasn't going to be able to pull Waluigi up as long as that fan was spinning. Verily, it seemed there was no hope for Waluigi at all... If Petey continued to hang on, his grip on the funnel's mouth would slip, and they would both be sucked into the fan and be shredded alive. However, if Petey could just shake Waluigi loose, he'd be able to save himself...  
But he couldn't do that, could he? Would he end a life to save his own? Or should he keep struggling to hang on?

...Petey couldn't force Waluigi to let go. He just couldn't. If he caused a death just to save his own life, he would never forgive himself, regardless who's life it was that would be taken...  
But Petey's grasp on the funnel's edge was weakening fast. What was he to do now?!  
Looks like he had no choice. He would hang on for as long as he could and just pray for a miracle... And if that miracle never came, then at least he and Waluigi would go down together. Just as Double Dash partners always knew they had to.  
It was the Double Dash motto that Toad had created himself when he first obtained the Presidency - "Rise as a duo, fall as one..."  
It had always sounded kinda corny to him in the past, but now, those words almost seemed like words to live by. Or, as the case may be, to die by...

The hurricane strength wind continued to pull on Petey with all it's might, but he continued to fight back. He could feel the petals on his head flapping like mad in the wind - he was sure some had even been pulled right off and sucked all the way down into the turbine. However, he wasn't going to let go, no matter what.  
He slowly turned his big head around, and stared down into the red chute at Waluigi, who was still verily attached to the Boo Pipes by his safety tether. Waluigi's face was twisted with a mixture of fear and excruciating pain. The weight of the vehicle pulling on him must've been slowly pulling his arm right out of its socket.

Petey growled loudly over the roaring of the turbine down to Waluigi. Waluigi looked up at Petey with those pleading eyes. "Petey...!" he said, barely audible against the sound of the wind, "I can't... I can't do it...!"  
Petey growled once more, urging Waluigi to hang on.  
Waluigi's face, however, remained unchanged. He looked down at the Boo Pipes that was pulling on his arm, then back up at Petey. His frown grew ever bigger.  
"Save yourself, Petey..."  
Petey was surprised, and scared, to feel Waluigi beginning to loosen his grasp on Petey's leaf arm.

Petey began to scream and howl in protest. He attempted to recoil his leaf arm around Waluigi's hand, but Waluigi would not allow it. He now held on by his thumb and forefinger, and was ready to slip off and be sucked right into certain death.  
Petey roared one last statement to Waluigi in plant talk, which translated into, "We rise as a duo, and fall as one!"  
But Waluigi slowly shook his head. "No... All of us... We've already fallen..."

That was the last Waluigi said before finally releasing Petey's leaf arm. Petey could only watch as Waluigi was sucked down the long red funnel at phenomenal speed. It was like he was being pulled straight into Hell by the devil himself.  
Petey had to turn away the moment the Boo Pipes were drawn into the turbine. The sound of metal being shredded and slammed against every wall, the floor and the ceiling filled the air. Not a single scream or wail was heard from Waluigi in his last moments...

Shortly thereafter, the winds of the turbine stopped almost immediately. Petey's body, which had been kept afloat by the strong suction, was now beginning to relax and settled on the funnel's floor. Without having to look back, Petey was sure of what had happened - the Boo Pipes' collision with the turbine had completely demolished and broke it apart. Petey was no longer in any danger of being shredded to bits like a common weed. Realizing he still had a white-knuckle grip on the edge of the funnel's mouth (assuming he had knuckles), he took his leaf arm and gently allowed his upper body to hang out the edge of the funnel's opening.

Petey realized right then just how heroic of a thing Waluigi had done. While Petey was contemplating whether he should let Waluigi die or if they should die together, he never once thought Waluigi would actually sacrifice himself to save Petey. Why hadn't Petey thought Waluigi would do something like that? Sure, Waluigi was totally devious and a bit of a con artist, but he surely wasn't evil...  
Did Waluigi do what he did because he was in so much pain? Was the pressure of the Boo Pipes' pulling on his arm too much for him? Or did Waluigi really do it out of heart, so Petey could save himself? Petey wasn't sure, but if he could, he'd have thanked and respected Waluigi everyday from then on for his heroism. God bless him...

While Petey hung his big head out of the funnel, he saw something going on in the water off the rear of the boat. It looked like someone was being dragged behind boat in the life preserver or something. What was going on? Was someone else in trouble? Goddamn, Double Dash had just been nothing but trouble for everyone the past week! What in the world was happening to their once peaceful and fun organization?

Petey was then surprised to see all the rest of the remaining racers come running onto the rear deck and line up along the guardrail. They all were looking off the back of the boat and into the water, presumably at the person or people that were in the life preserver. After observing the scene, they all began to cheer and holler amongst themselves. What had happened? Something good? Seriously? Something _good_ happening in a Mario Kart race for the first time in the past week? Petey was awfully curious, so he promptly stood up, flapped his leafy wings, and flew out of the funnel. He descended upon the crowd and positioned himself between Daisy and Toadette. After looking down to see what the commotion was about, he almost felt like cheering himself.

Down in the calm blue sea, he saw Mario sitting in the life preserver like an inner tube. Baby Mario was in one hand, and Baby Luigi was in the other. There was no doubt about it - it had been a rescue! The babies had fallen off the boat, and Mario jumped in to save them! Yayz! Already, King Boo and Paratroopa had flown down to aid Mario and the babies into getting back up on the ship. It took some doing, but eventually, they all managed to make it on deck safe and sound. There was a small bit of celebration following the final rescue.  
Luigi quickly grabbed Baby Luigi and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Luigi! I'm so glad you're safe!"  
Baby Luigi hugged his dad back, too. "Daddy! Uncy Mawio saved me!"  
"I know!" Luigi replied playfully. "He's a hero alright!"

Mario had his own happy little episode with his son. "Hey little man," he said, "Let's not tell mommy about this, alright?"  
"Why not, daddy?"  
"Well, if we told mommy that you fell off the side of the boat into the ocean and I had to save you from drowning AND from almost being eaten by a 70-foot shark, don't you think it'd scare her a little bit?"  
"No."

"Well, then keep quiet about it for daddy's sake. I don't want mommy piledriving me on the head or nothing..."

When Mario at last set Baby Mario down, Daisy immediately ran up and embraced him affectionately. "Thank you so much, Mario. I... I just don't know what to say!"  
Mario hugged her back. "Aw, it's OK. I'm Super Mario! It's what I do best! Hehe."  
Daisy pulled away slightly and looked into his eyes. "My hero..." she said with a smile.  
It was noticed that Luigi was looking upon this scene with a distinct flash of negativity in his eyes...

However, when Daisy finally pulled away from Mario, she gasped when she found her white gloves were smeared with red blood. Shuddering, she looked at Mario, who looked just as astonished.  
"Mario, what happened to you?" she asked.  
Mario's adrenaline rush was now beginning to fade away, and as it did, he felt pain throbbing throughout his entire body. The epicenter of it all was protruding from a clearly open wound on his back...  
Suddenly, with a gasp and cough, Mario dropped to his knees, then fell flat on his stomach. His vision faded to black as he heard the sound of several footsteps frantically running over to his aid...

* * *

Things went smoothly for the remainder of the day, or at least as smoothly as things could've possibly gone under the circumstances. Because the Daisy Cruiser's main engine had been ruptured, they all had to rely on the lifeboats to return to shore. Not before that, though, Yoshi was able to locate Birdo, who'd been hiding under the staircase leading up to the starting line. No one bothered to question her brief disappearance, though, for everyone's primary concern at the time was Mario. They desperately strove to get him to the Double Dash infirmary as soon as possible. Once they finally got him there, the Doctor did a small amount of examination. He concluded that Mario was alive, at least for the time being, and that he'd run some tests to see if he would recover. The diagnosis would be ready by the next day, which as they all unfortunately knew, was the day before the Rainbow World Cup. He had not woken up since he'd first passed out on the deck of the ship. They could only pray for him and hope he'd heal in time for it, if he healed at all...

On a side note, Mario was given Yoshi's old bed next to Peach, despite the fact that she'd just had her blood transfusion and was put on sleeping medication, and thus would be unconscious for quite some time. Baby Mario was permitted by the doctor to stay with his parents in the infirmary, suggesting that there was a playroom for toddlers where he could go if need be. Baby Luigi had also shown signs that he wanted to stay there with his cousin, so Luigi and Daisy decided to let him do just that.

Since then, conversation of the Daisy Cruiser accident between the racers had been on and off. It was through these discussions that Petey had revealed the sad news of Waluigi's death. How he had sacrificed himself to save Petey, and also his cryptic last words. News of this death was both sad and frightening, but as much as they all hated to admit it, it wasn't all that surprising. The fact that someone was going to die during that race was never really the question, but rather _who _was going to die? And this time, the who had been Waluigi...

* * *

When dinnertime finally rolled around, everyone showed up at the Mess Hall to eat their fill. Only Toadette decided to give it a miss, for she claimed she still had a lot of work left to do at the office, being the new Vice President. No one made any attempt to make her do otherwise.

This left the dinner table with only Luigi, Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Paratroopa, DK, Bowser, Wario, Petey, and King Boo - a total of 10 racers. Half the total number of racers there should have been. Their team was becoming a dying breed... literally.

The dinner table was unusually quiet that night. No one had spoken a word when the appetizer of Klepto hot wings was passed around, nor did they when the Power Star Steak was served. All they really did was eat and stare at their food as they did, acting as though they were completely unaware that others were at the table with them, all sealed within their own bubble of solitude. The faces around the table were filled either with sorrow, anger, suspicion, or any and every combination of the three. If two tablemates ever happened to make their gazes meet, they would both promptly look back down at their meal, though the awful feelings remained in their hearts. The miasma of sadness, confusion, fear, and anger was ever-present, and made each and every one of them question their existence and will to live...

The only one who's gaze resembled more anger than anything else was Bowser's. His evil eye was never taken off Wario for more than a second, who constantly shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  
Daisy had tried to strike up a conversation with Luigi a couple times, as he was sitting right next to her. However, he would simply pretend to ignore her and continue eating. It was noticed, though, that he gave her a discreet, yet very unpleasant glare from time to time.

Around the time the Fricassee Shroom was getting passed around, DK finally made an attempt to spark some sort of tablewide discussion. "Hey! The Rainbow World Cup comes in two more days! You all not excited?"  
Bowser slammed his claw on the table and pointed at DK with his fork. "Don't say those words at the dinner table, ya goddamn Sasquatch. I don't wanna hear nothin' about it!"  
"But Bowser," DK replied thoughtfully, "You say last night that you want win the cup for your Jr. You say that, no?"  
Bowser closed his eyes and sighed deeply. That memory was clearly very hard for him to cope with. He then nodded. "Yeah, I said that. After today, though, racing just seems like a gateway to Hell for me. I swear, I'd pay by right horn right now if it meant I never had to see another racing kart for the rest of my life."  
"Oh," DK moaned. "I think I see. Well, I still wanna race in it. I wanna win that cup for Diddy. He want that for me. No, wait... I want it for him. Umm, no... we both want it for him me... I dunno. Now I confoosed myself."

"Well," King Boo said, after taking a sip of his Vim Smoothie, "I'm still looking forward to it."  
"Of course you're looking forward to it!" Daisy protested. "You don't have to worry about dying! And you don't have anyone close to you to lose!"  
"Hey!" King Boo snapped back, "Waluigi was a pretty close friend of mine! I feel terrible that he's gone!"  
"Oh, yeah right!" Wario shouted. "You can't possibly think you were as close to him as I was!"  
"I never said I was, so you can just shut up!"  
"Go lick a fat chick's ass! You got a big enough tongue for it!"  
"Oh, so this is how you thank me for helping you try to assassinate Toad?"  
"You didn't do it to help me! You only did it cuz you were scared of Mr V, you goddamn liar!"  
"Didn't I tell you to just shut up!?"

Birdo made a harsh nasally sound. It made Bowser wince angrily. "Don't EVEN talk, Birdo! You haven't lost anyone important to you!"  
Birdo reached over and grabbed Yoshi's arm, indicating that she'd almost lost him. Yoshi didn't want to get involved in the argument, though. "Yoshi!" he called out, hoping to calm everyone down. Paratroopa barked loudly and Petey began to squeal in plant language as well. Everyone was in an uproar, throwing cutting and hurtful remarks at one another. It was complete madness. Look what all these feelings of sorrow, anger, and even suspicion came together to become. It was all completely out of control...  
The only one that chose to stay quiet for whatever reason was Luigi. He merely continued to give his periodic nasty stares at Daisy whenever she wasn't looking straight at him. There was almost a heartbreaking quality in the way he looked at her. What was it that was going on with him?

Luigi finally uttered his only words at the dinner table that night when the chef came along with one final dish...

"Dessert's here."

With that, the chef placed a platter of delicious-looking Shroomflé. As it was passed around, everyone took their share and allowed it's heavenly taste to ease their troubled minds. Thank goodness for a good dessert's ability to shut people up...

* * *

Nothing particularly special happened the rest of the night. After dessert, they all headed back to the Resting Quarters to get an early night's sleep, for it was clear that's all they really wanted, and probably needed. No more was discussed of the conspiracy, nor of the accident on the Daisy Cruiser, nor of Waluigi's death, though all these things continued to linger on all their minds. The next day would be spent preparing for the Rainbow World Cup, whatever that meant. However, that seemed to be all but on the bottom of the importance scale...

They would also be hearing of Mario's condition the next day, which was something they were all eager to know about. Was he going to be alright? They hoped so...

Yes, they all hoped that everything would get better. Perhaps it was an empty hope, but a hope nonetheless. At that point in time, it seemed any kind of hope was worth holding onto...


	8. Day 7

**Day 7**

**_1 Day Remains..._**

**--**

The next morning, everyone woke up with a single thought on all their minds - The Rainbow World Cup was finally going to happen the following day. This was a thought that none of them bothered to express, however. That day was supposed to be meant for practicing on the different variations of Rainbow Road in order to prepare for the Rainbow World Cup, but every single one of them simply lacked the will to do so. Hell, they all seemed to lack the will to do anything. Most of them spent the day lying in bad, and just thinking. Either that, or just allowing themselves to be crushed by their own sorrows. Never in all their years had the Mario Kart team seen such a woeful time...

As a matter of fact, if any of them were looking forward to anything, it was to hear Mario's diagnosis that was supposed to be ready that day. They'd spent the entire period of sunlight, just waiting. Not even Luigi and Daisy left to go pick up their son from the infirmary. All they did was wait, along with everybody else...

Until finally, in the late afternoon, Toadette entered the Resting Quarters and announced that they would all be heading over to the infirmary to check up on Mario's status, as well as Peach's. At last, the entire team was given the will to get their lazy, depressed asses up and out of the Resting Quarters. This was news they all needed to hear...

It was about 8:00 o'clock pm. Toadette was leading the racers down the hall of the Double Dash HQ towards the infirmary. They were all eagerly awaiting Mario's health report. Many of them, especially Luigi and Daisy, were on the verge of tears, fearing he might be dying. It was a natural fear for them to have, seeing as death seemed to be such a common thing to them as of late. Secretly, none of the other racers were very hopeful that Mario was going to survive either.  
Toadette, however, seemed rather indifferent about it. If they didn't know better, they might've even said she looked like she didn't care whether he survived. She looked as though she already knew his fate and had accepted it, yet wasn't willing to share it with anyone else.

When the team reached the infirmary, Toadette opened the door and held it open for everyone to walk through. As they all did, they saw Peach sound asleep in her hospital bed, her leg still up in her cast, which was still tagged with all their friendly autographs. Baby Mario was asleep on her chest. Baby Luigi was nowhere to be found at the moment. Careful not to disturb them, they turned their attention to the bed next to hers.  
There lay the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom himself. He, too, was asleep, lying on his stomach. Perhaps he still had yet to wake up? How long was he going to be out? Was he _ever_ going to wake up? His hat and shirt were off and hung on a nearby coatrack, and wrapped tightly around his torso was a large white bandage. There appeared to be some faint red stains marks seeping through. Oh, they hoped he would be OK...

"Doctor??" Toadette called out. "Are you in here?"  
A few seconds later, the Ratooey doctor came walking through a nearby door. He opened his eyes wide when he saw everyone standing there. "Oh, my! Hello everyone. Sorry, I was just watching over Baby Luigi. I just put him in the playroom. Anyway, did you come here to ask about Mario's condition?"  
Yoshi nodded and squealed softly. "Y-Yoshi...?"  
The Ratooey nodded. "Yes, there's nothing to worry about. His condition isn't critical."  
Everyone sighed in relief at this news, and for many of them, it was their first smile-inducing moment that whole day.

"What the hell happened to him?" Bowser then inquired.

"I don't know exactly what happened to him on the boat, because I wasn't there of course. However, he's suffered some pretty bad injuries to his midsection. He's broken several ribs, and even a very slightly ruptured lung. He also suffered some deep puncture wounds in his back. Something stabbed him and even pierced through to his spinal chord, causing a few spliced nerves. Thankfully, though, he won't be paralyzed, as is what usually happens in such a situations. All in all, it's nothing to worry about. He's already a strong man, so he'll completely recover in a relatively short time."  
Another wave of relief swept over the team, and they revealed their feelings in a chorus of more sighs and gleeful shouts.

"Will he be able to race in the Rainbow World Cup?" Toadette asked, interrupting the celebration.  
"I beg your pardon?" the doctor asked.  
"The Rainbow World Cup," Toadette repeated. "The biggest annual racing event in the world. This coming match is said to be the 'Race of the Century'. We're scheduled to race in it tomorrow."  
"Tomorrow? Oh dear..." The doctor moaned, looking at the sleeping Mario. "I don't know if I can allow that. He's going to recover, but certainly not by tomorrow..."  
"But we can't do the Rainbow World Cup without Mario!" Daisy protested. "He's the reason we're called 'Mario Kart'! He's been looking forward to it for so long!"  
"Do you have ANY idea when he'll be completely recovered?" King Boo asked. "Tomorrow night, maybe? C'mon, he's gotta be all recovered by tomorrow night so he can at least celebrate with us!"  
The doctor looked at Mario once more. He then picked a clipboard up off a nearby desk and read through it for a minute or two. He finally put it down and sighed. "Will he be well enough to race by tomorrow night? To be completely honest, I just don't know at this point. We'll just have to wait and see. When it comes time to head off to the big race, we'll check and find out if Mario can race with you. However, right now, there's just no saying. If it's any compensation, Peach just got her blood transfusion yesterday, and her leg is healing nicely, so she may actually be able to join you tomorrow. As for Mario, though..."

Toadette closed her eyes and shook her head, causing her braids to swing to and fro. "You know what? That's fine. There's someone else I can ask anyway. A far more dependable source."  
The doctor looked confused. "Excuse me? Who else could you possibly ask?"  
"I have my sources," she said. "Thank you Doctor, but I have to get back to work. Take good care of Mario, OK? Good-bye." With that, Toadette turned around as walked out through the door out of the infirmary.  
"Geez... Toadette sure has gotten weird ever since she became Vice," Wario said aside to Paratroopa. "What do you think's gotten into her?"  
Paratroopa simply shrugged. However, he thought he might have an idea who she might have been referring to when she said she had a far more reliable source than the doctor to hear of Mario's fate. The same person was probably responsible for her strange behavior as well...

Birdo made some nasally noises in the form of a question.  
"Yeah, what we do now?" DK asked.  
"Well, we've found out everything we need to know about Mario, I guess..." Bowser figured. "So, I guess we just go back to the Resting Quarters and get all hyped up for the Rainbow World Cup?"  
"For Christ's sake, does anybody realize that Waluigi died yesterday?!" Wario blurted out. "You guys could show a little sympathy! The guy was my brother, after all..."  
"You never really acted like it before," Bowser snapped. "Besides, maybe people dying is a subject that's just a little touchy for some of us. You think about that? HUH?!"  
"Hey, you shut the hell up!" Wario weakly retaliated.  
"You never should've said anything in the FIRST place, you son murderer!"  
With all the shouting going on, Baby Mario had woken up to see what was happening. It was a wonder neither Mario nor Peach had woken up. They must have been on some strong medication.

"Everybody, please!" Daisy shouted, "Can we just try to think rationally here for a second?! If you all still want to find out who the true killer is behind this whole thing, I say we just go back to the Resting Quarters and talk about it there..."  
"If we're gonna talk about this mystery," King Boo said, "I say we get Toadette involved. She knows loads more about the inner workings of Double Dash than any of us."

Paratroopa then barked a serious question.  
The question itself was enough to make everyone freeze, as though time itself had stopped for but a second...  
Daisy finally added, "Err... I don't think we should go that far. Asking him would be just... too far. At least for now."

"What do you mean 'for now'?" Bowser asked. "The Rainbow World Cup is coming tomorrow! We don't have all that much time left!"  
"What big turtle dragon mean?" DK wondered. "Why Rainbow World Cup too late?"  
"Umm... I ... I dunno, alright? I just know!"  
"Well, OK," Daisy asked, "What do we do then?"

"Pardon me for stating the obvious," Bowser said, "But I think if we're to get to the bottom of all this crap, we'd have to have a chat with Mr V."  
That was stating the obvious, alright. No one could argue with that. However, sometimes the obvious does need to be stated.  
"So what do you propose we do then?" Daisy asked. "Just waltz into his office and strike up a conversation? Be like 'Hey Mr V! How ya doin? Listen, we gotta hear what you know about the murders that have been going on! Can you be a pal and tell us?"  
"Well honestly, why _can't_ we just do that?" Wario asked.  
Birdo looked at him like he was an idiot and made a few suggestive Birdo-hole sounds.  
"Well duh, I know THAT," Wario assured. "What I mean is, why does it have to be that way? Does he really have to be that scary that we can't even talk ta him or anything? He is our President. We should be able to, you know, talk to him about stuff..."  
"Maybe Mr V isn't all that scary as we sayed before?" DK asked with a shrug.

"_Maybe..._" they all secretly thought.

"Well, alright then. Let's go to his office and have a word with this freak, shall we?" King Boo shrieked. He began to float towards the door leading out of the infirmary. Everyone reluctantly followed behind initially, except Daisy and Luigi.

The two stood in the infirmary for a short while, standing between the two beds in which Peach (with Baby Mario) and Mario slept soundly. They continued to stand there even after the door to the infirmary closed and cast the large room in silence. A hauntingly uncomfortable silence.  
Daisy finally turned to Luigi. "Umm... Well, I guess Baby Luigi's still in the playroom. Should we maybe take him with us?"  
Luigi didn't say a word. He continued to stare down upon Mario. There was a strong emotion protruding from his eyes, but Daisy wasn't quite able to pinpoint what it was.  
"Or maybe..." she added, "The doctor can still look over him for a while. At least until we're done with this whole thing..."  
Luigi still didn't answer. His intense gaze was still fixed on Mario.  
Daisy finally gathered up the bravery to ask the question. "Luigi, is everything OK?"

Luigi was slow in responding, but he eventually turned away from Mario and looked straight at her. His eyes usually shone with the inner joy of doing the right thing, and were often tapped with a touch of feminism. That luster was all but gone now. His eyes were black and angry, almost as though trying to force some unspoken guilt upon her. Daisy felt it. She really did, and it scared her.  
"...What did I do wrong?" he finally asked.

Daisy was confused. "What? I don't know what you mean-"  
"Did I not show enough compassion, or what?! Is there not enough fire in me to satisfy your wild side?!"  
As Luigi's hateful glare slowly became watery, Daisy looked down at Mario...  
And then frowned in guilt. "Oh Luigi, I... I'm so sorry..."

"Are you?" Luigi asked firmly. "Are you sorry you violated the sanctity of our marriage?"  
"Yes Luigi, I really am! Believe me, it was all an impulse! I didn't know what I was doing..."  
"I don't care," Luigi said. "Just... tell me what I did wrong!"  
Daisy raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? You didn't do anything wrong..."  
"Then what didn't I do right?! Just tell me what I have to change about myself so you never get another 'impulse' to make love to my brother!"

Daisy was at first swelled up with guilt and pity for Luigi, but now she was becoming frustrated. "Luigi... _I'm_ the one who cheated on _you_... and YOU'RE the one offering to change?! Honestly, if anything prompted me to do what I did, it was for this very reason! You don't ever fight for what you believe in! You always try so hard to see things from other people's point of view so you never have to fight. Well you know what, honey? That's a beautiful trait for a man to have, and I'm happy you're like that, but... Would it kill you to convert some of your moodiness to anger once in a while? Act like a fighter sometimes? I'm a woman, Luigi, and women can only feel attracted to a man that they feel safe with!"  
Daisy could tell her words were making Luigi feel bad, so she softened her tone. "You saw us last night... didn't you?"  
Luigi nodded slowly.  
"And I bet you didn't do anything to put a stop to it. You just stayed in your bed and cried yourself to sleep, didn't you?"  
Somewhat shamefully, Luigi nodded.  
"See?" she asked, gently touching his arm, "You hold back to even fight for yourself. How can I trust that you'd be able to fight for me...?"

Luigi looked at her, his eyes now filled to the brim with tears. He swallowed heavily and smiled a little. "Yeah... I understand what you mean. Thanks Daisy."  
"No problem," she replied, pulling him close. "So next time I do something like that, just do something outrageous...like threaten to kill Mario or something!"  
Luigi laughed a little at that remark, but it quickly faded into a frown. It wasn't the same frown he'd worn a minute ago. It was as though HE was now the one feeling guilty. But for what...? Daisy didn't know.  
Regardless, the two were able to take hands and walk out the infirmary door, heading for the President's office. They evidently had unanimously decided that it was OK to leave Baby Luigi in the playroom. Right now, their focus was the solving the Double Dash conspiracy, and that was something the babies needed no part in...

* * *

Within minutes, Daisy and Luigi found themselves nearing the door to the room labeled 'VICE PRESIDENT'. As they approached the crowd, Wario turned to them, looking puzzled. "Where the hell did you two go?"  
"That's none of your business," Daisy quickly replied. "Now why are we outside the Vice President's office? Mr V's not Vice anymore, remember? He's the real President!"  
"We know that, Little Miss Smarty," Bowser growled. "But Petey says Mr V's in here cuz Toadette's working in the President's Office."  
Petey nodded assuringly.  
"But... Toadette's not the President," Daisy said.  
"We KNOW that, you witch! God!" Bowser snapped gruffly.  
Luigi stepped forward slowly and raised a finger. "H-Hey!" he stammered. "You watch what you say to my wife!"  
Bowser was so surprised by Luigi's reaction that his first instinct was to just grin and chuckle to himself. He then raised his hands and said, "OK, OK... Sorry there, Green 'Stache!"  
Luigi nodded and Daisy smiled lightly.

"OK, so what we do now?" DK asked, trying to keep quiet so Mr V wouldn't hear from the other side of the door. "We knock and say hello?"  
Yoshi decided that was a good idea. He crutched over to the door and tapped on it a few times. They gave Mr V about a minute before realizing he wasn't going to answer.  
Paratroopa flew over and pressed his ear against the door. The others waited to hear what he had to say. However, his report was blank. He heard nothing.

Birdo shrugged and spewed some noise out of her hole.  
"Well, we didn't plan on just walking in anyway, you ho-bag," Bowser said. "I say we just bust down the door and surprise him!"  
"Oh, hey, I've got a better idea," Wario announced. "Yo King Boo, you can float through stuff, right?"  
King Boo raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeeeah..."  
"Why don't you just float through the door and, ya know, tell us what you see?"  
King Boo grimaced and looked at Wario like he was a complete moron. "What?! Fuck no! I was honest with you about this before, and I'll be honest again - that guy freaks me the hell out! He's clearly on a more supernatural level than I am! Who knows what he could do to me?!"  
"Mr V, supernatural?!" Daisy asked, bewildered. "OK, King Boo, you're just sounding nuts now."  
"Yeah!" Wario argued back. "What makes you think he's 'supernatural'?"  
"I just know he is, OK?!"  
"Shh!" DK ordered, putting his finger to his lips. "You too loud! Mr V will know we here!"  
"Oh, he already knew we were coming here before he even came here!" King Boo said. "I'm tellin' you, that guy ain't normal!"  
"Aw, quit bein' such a baby and get in there!" Wario demanded. He thrust forward to push King Boo through the door, but he ended up going straight through King Boo himself and smacking his face against the wall.  
"Please do this?" Daisy pleaded. "For us?"

King Boo was still looking like his stance was firm. However, when he caught a glimpse of Bowser mockingly brandishing his vial of holy water, he quickly regrouped. "Alright, I'll do it. But nothing better happen to me! I still wanna spend a few more years on Earth. I at least wanna see Nintendo win the console war..."  
And so, everyone nodded silently and waited for King Boo to prepare to fly through the door. The preparation period wasn't long. Not wanting to prolong the inevitable, King Boo swiftly flew forth and disappeared into the door...

Everyone waited for his response. They waited several seconds, but they heard nothing from him. Did he see Mr V? Had Mr V done something to him? What was happening on the other side of that door...?  
A sudden outburst from King Boo made them jump. "_Hey! What's this, a joke? This office... it's empty!"  
_"WHAT?!" all the racers replied, perplexed. Had King Boo just said the room was empty? But that couldn't be right!

The door to Mr V's office suddenly opened, and King Boo was seen holding the door open. The room appeared to be naught but your usual office room, complete with a desk piled with many papers, as well as a computer that was turned off. It seemed to lack the grandeur of the President's office, but still...  
And the large armchair behind the desk sat conspicuously empty. Where was Mr V?

Luigi reached for the light switch as he walked in, but was surprised to find that there wasn't one. The only light in the office was that coming the moonlight which shown through the window. There was no other source of artificial light to be found in the room. How strange...  
And yet, as they all walked into the mysteriously empty office, they couldn't help but feel they were being watched... observed... by something unseen that could see them. It was the feeling that made their hair stand on end...  
Paratroopa, who was the most animalistic of the bunch, could really feel his sixth sense going out of whack. He whimpered softly and, ironically enough, stayed close to Bowser to feel somewhat safe. Yoshi, Birdo, and DK could also feel something that the others were unable to sense. Indeed, something very creepy was lurking in this room...

"Well, we're in the office of the infamous Mr V," Daisy said, "So now what?"  
"Maybe we should look around. Who knows what kind of treasures the guy has lying around?" Wario mischievously recommended. "May as well grab a souvenir or two while were here. Maybe he's got gold...!"  
"Maybe he hiding?" DK asked softly. "Maybe we try and say something, and he come out?"  
"Let's just look around for a couple minutes..." Daisy whispered aloud. "Maybe we'll find something relating to the mystery."  
Daisy had evidently become the self-appointed leader of the group, and frankly, no one really saw fit to argue with her. As a result, they all began to search around the dark, vacant office.  
Wario, strangely enough, was having a very odd feeling of déja vu. Snooping around an office at night, looking for something... When had he done this sort of thing before?

Luigi was opening the drawers on the side of the desk, seeing if anything interesting was inside. To his surprise, most of them were empty. Now, he wasn't sure how much work a President actually had to do, but he at least expected there to be something in ONE of these drawers. Hmm...  
Just when he'd gone through every drawer, he found the very last one he looked in to reveal a prize - a piece of paper. Curious, Luigi picked it up and glanced at it.  
The second he pulled the paper out of the drawer, he got a terrible feeling in his stomach. He suddenly felt very cold... Looking around his shoulders, all he saw were his fellow racers busy searching around the room themselves. Not wanting to look at this paper alone for whatever reason, he called out to Yoshi, who was looking in some sort of cabinet.  
"Hey Yoshi," Luigi said just loud enough or Yoshi to hear.  
Yoshi turned towards Luigi and, puzzled, pointed to himself. "Yoshi?"  
"Yeah, come look at this I found..."  
Wobbling a bit on his crutches, Yoshi bounded over to Luigi. The two then looked at the paper. They were both stunned by what they saw...

It was a screenshot of the Character Selection screen, showing the faces of all the racers. However, the faces of Yoshi, Peach, and Mario were each marked with a little red X in the corner of their respective box. The faces of Diddy Kong, Koopa, Bowser Jr, Toad, and Waluigi were crossed out completely by one large red X. It was clear - This was a record of the racers who'd been injured and killed so far in Double Dash. Mr V had been keeping track of it all. But why...?  
A sudden cry from Daisy made everyone immediately stop what they were doing. "Hey, who closed the door?!"

Everyone looked at towards the door, which they were sure had been left open. Indeed, it was now closed. Paratroopa, who was nearest the door, flew over and tried to open it. It would not budge.  
"What the hell?!" Bowser exclaimed from the dark, "Nobody saw it close?!"  
Nobody could come up with a reasonable explanation. Not only was it strange that nobody knew who had closed the door, but also that nobody had even seen it happen. What was going on...?  
All was silent, and all was still. Everyone was too afraid and puzzled to say or do anything. They all merely stood around, wondering what was going to happen...

"_Welcome, racers._"

A voice suddenly sounded from within the darkness. It made everyone begin to tremble in cold sweat. There was no mistaking it - Mr V.  
"_Why do you intrude so boldly into my office? Especially when there's a Rainbow World Cup tomorrow that you should be preparing for?_"

Daisy was initially the only one brave enough to speak. "Umm... Mr V?" She had no clue where the voice was coming from, so she could only spin and look at every corner of the room as she spoke. "We didn't mean to intrude. We just... came here hoping to find something... anything... that could help us find out who's been killing the Double Dash members. Please, we know you know something. Help us..."

Silence.

"_...You wish to know who's been killing Double Dash members, do you? Well, you could say I know something about that. Hmm, one might say I know... EVERYTHING about that._"  
Bowser was growing infuriated. "Stop talkin' in riddles, ya fruit! Tell me who the hell killed my son, or I'm gonna kill you SO much it won't be funny!!"  
"_Hmhmhm... I'd like to see you try, Bowser. You don't even know where I am._"  
"Err... Y-Yes I do!"  
"_Is that so? Perhaps you could point me out?_"  
"Umm... sure. You're right over... there!"  
"_That's a chair._"  
"Ohh-hoho, smart guy, huh?! I know what to do with smart guys... I swear, I will rip your balls off with my bare claws!"  
"_Heheh... Who said I had balls?_"  
"Guh-WHA?! Oh, that's IT! You're goin' down, ya here me?! DOWN!!"

While DK and Wario struggled to keep the enraged Bowser at bay, Luigi held the picture he had discovered over his head. "Mr V, tell us what this picture means! Right now! We demand answers!"

More silence.

"_...Yes, I will help you solve this mystery. However, I will only guide you. It will be up to all of you to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Is that clear?_"  
Everyone reluctantly answered 'yes' in their own way. They weren't sure how they could say no to this man, especially considering they didn't even know where he was. His voice... it just came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time...

"_Very well then. I will explain where you must go and what you must look for. Ask no questions. Just do as I say. Now, you shall divide into three groups. This is because these accidents were not all caused by an individual, but rather by three different parties. The first two accidents were caused by one. Group 1 shall investigate this by visiting Toadette in her office. She will tell you more..._"  
"Toadette caused the first two accidents?!" Daisy asked.  
"_I said not to ask questions. Now, I believe you all have figured out by now who is responsible for the third accident, them being Wario, King Boo, and myself. This can be traced back to the culprit who caused the first accident. Group 2, to learn more, return to the Resting Quarters and look underneath Mario's bed. You will find the clue you need..._"

A wee bit more silence, as though Mr V was making sure everyone understood what he was saying.  
"_The final group... Shall be composed of just one of you. That one shall stay in here with me. I will explain the fourth accident, as well as any other questions you may have. Again, however, only one of you may stay here. The rest must divide into two groups; one of four, one of five, and carry out the other objectives. Understood?_"  
"...Understood..." was the hesitant reply from everyone.

"_Very well. I leave it to you to divide into your respective groups. Remember, Group 1 will be composed of four people and will inquire Toadette about the first two accidents. Group 2 will have five people, and will return to the Resting Quarters to find the clue under Mario's bed that will explain the cause of the third accident. Group 3 will consist of only one, and that one shall stay here with me to hear all the rest. Now, take your time and group up._"

The next ten minutes or so were spent discussing how the team was going to divide it's nine members into the groups that Mr V had ordered for. Mr V didn't say a word as they did so. He clearly wanted them to sort this whole situation out for themselves, which seemed unusual for him. Or, was this something to be expected? None of them really knew. The man was so mysterious...

At last, the nine members all divided up into their separate groups:  
Group 1, which was to speak with Toadette about the first two accidents, consisted of DK, Yoshi, Birdo, and Paratroopa. DK was desperate to know the truth behind Diddy's death, and Yoshi sure as hell wanted to know who was responsible for his own injuries. Birdo was worried about Yoshi, so she stuck with him. Paratroopa never gave a reason for his involvement in this group, but it was assumed that it was because he craved knowledge about Koopa's death.

Group 2, which was to return to the Resting Quarters and retrieve a clue that would help answer the secret behind the third accident, had Wario, King Boo, Bowser, Luigi, and Daisy as members. Bowser was practically dying to know why his son had been killed, and as a result, he pretty much dragged Wario and King Boo along, despite their oppositions. Luigi and Daisy were willing to go along with any team, so long as they could obtain answers.

Group 3, which was to perform the coveted task of staying along with Mr V and asking questions, consisted of Petey. He was the only one who actually witnessed Waluigi's death, and the fact that he'd had a private phone call with Mr V meant he had a wee bit more of a connection to him than any of the others. It wasn't much of a connection, but it was something.

"_Very well,_" said Mr V approvingly, seeming to survey the selection. "_Now, carry out your objectives. When you feel you've learned all you need to know, return here. I'll be waiting..._"  
"You ever gonna get the guts to show your face?" Bowser called out.  
"_...Perhaps if I knew which face to show..._"  
Bowser groaned and shook his head. "Ugh... Just forget it."  
"_Alright then. Go on. All of you._"  
The door to the office suddenly swung open, seemingly on its own. Not in the right mindstate to ask questions, everyone immediately flooded towards the door.  
"_...Except you, Petey. You stay here, remember?_"  
Petey grumbled and fell back, allowing the others to head through the door and out into the hallway. Once they were all out, the door slammed shut again, trapping Petey in the dark, quiet, and anything-but-vacant room...

* * *

Toadette was busy preparing for the Rainbow World Cup. It was a task that demanded a lot of paperwork. She didn't mind doing it all, though. Anything to keep her mind off the horrible things she's discovered about Double Dash's inner workings ever since she'd obtained the Vice Presidency. Ever since she'd learned the things Mr V had revealed to her...  
She almost jumped out of her skin when a sudden tap on the door broke the silence of the room. It took a her a second to register the fact that someone was at the door.

"C-come in!" she called.

The door opened, and in walked DK, Paratroopa, Yoshi, and Birdo. The expressions on all their faces depicted pure seriousness.  
"Umm, is something wrong?" she asked.  
DK stepped forth. "Toadette, we comed to ask about the accidents."  
Toadette shifted her eyes to and fro. "...The accidents?"  
Birdo made some loud hole-noises, as though exclaiming "Yes, the accidents, you stupid woman!"  
Toadette had begun to tug nervously on her left braid. "I... What makes you think I know about them...?"  
"Yoshi," Yoshi replied. "Yoshi..."  
Toadette looked up at him with eyes filled with fearful wonder. "Mr V...?"  
All of them nodded. Except Paratroopa. He remained conspicuously quiet and motionless.

Upon hearing Mr V's name, Toadette appeared to reluctantly let her guard down. She had to sit there for a few seconds with her eyes closed, and just think to herself. None of them knew what it as that was bothering her. It was as though she knew everything, but was too ashamed, or afraid, to admit the truth. Or perhaps she herself hadn't yet accepted the truth... What could it possibly be?

At last, Toadette slowly stood up. She walked around the desk and over to the computer, where she turned it on. She gave it a few seconds to let it start up, then clicked on an icon on the desktop. A page opened up, filling the screen with a jumble of words and diagrams.  
Toadette then had to look away. Whatever it was on the screen, it was too much for her to look at. Quickly, she walked back around the desk to her armchair and sat down. She stared down at her lap and swivelled the chair around so she was facing the window, away from her friends. She did nothing more.  
All four of them were intrigued and confused by her actions. Did she, perchance, wish for them to see what was displayed on the computer for themselves? Was all that they needed to know in that computer file?  
Maybe Toadette really did already know the truth of it all, and really was just too upset by it to reveal it herself.

Reluctant, yet deathly curious, Yoshi began to crutch his way over to the monitor to have a closer look. Birdo followed close behind, almost afraid of what might be revealed. DK slowly followed, and a noticeably hesitant Paratroopa stayed several paces back and preferred to observe from a distance.

As so, the four began to read. And what they read shocked and deeply saddened them all...

* * *

The door to the Resting Quarters swung open and slammed against the wall with a bang. In stalked Bowser, who was eager to find the clue that would help explain the motives behind the DK Mountain accident. He immediately ran in, bent down near the first bed, and lifted the covers hanging off the side to see underneath. "Damn..." he muttered. After clambering back up, he began to run towards the next bed. "C'mon!" he called to the rest of the group as they entered the room. "Start looking for that clue!"

Luigi and Peach walked into the room not far behind. "Umm, I think Mr V said the clue was under Mario's bed," Luigi said over to Bowser.  
"Well then which on IS Mario's bed?!" Bowser shouted back. "It's not like these beds got names on 'em!"  
"Which bed did he sleep in last night?" Daisy wondered.  
"How the hell should I know?!" Bowser called back.  
Luigi and Daisy simply looked at one another and began to look underneath the beds as well. There were only 19 beds, so it wouldn't take long to find.

Wario and King Boo were lagging a bit behind, somewhat reluctant to enter the room. However, they were both still very curious about this clue they were seeking. Being the ones responsible for the accident in question, they wondered exactly why Mr V had wanted them to assassinate Toad in the first place, even though they had ended up killing Bowser Jr by accident instead. How would this supposed clue help them figure it out?

Luigi suddenly called out. "Hey, what's this?!"  
Bowser and Daisy quickly stood up to see what Luigi was talking about. They saw him reaching under one of the beds, then watched as he stood up with a dagger in his hands. He held it up for all too see.  
Bowser stared curiously at the dagger for a second. It was kind of ironic to see Luigi standing with a dagger like that. It drove him to him laugh. "Haha! Careful with that, Luigi. Knives aren't toys. They're only for BIG men! You don't want to cut yourself and get a booboo, now do you? You don't wanna-"

"Can it, Bowser!!" Daisy snapped, promptly shutting Bowser up. King Boo was secretly cackling to himself as well, but quickly stopped when Daisy gave him an angry glare.

She walked over to Luigi to have a look at the dagger. It's blade was about 6 inches long and had a black handle. This was no mere kitchen knife - it was the weapon of an assassin, no doubt. There also appeared to be some sort of memo attached to the handle. Curious, Luigi lifted it up to read it. Daisy looked over his shoulder, and the two read it together.  
Bowser, who was too lazy to take five frickin' steps over to them, called out. "Is something written on that paper, or what? What does it say?"  
Luigi and Daisy looked up and answered in unison. "_I KNOW..._"  
Bowser and King Boo both raised an eyebrow. "You know?" King Boo asked. "You know what?"  
"We dunno," Luigi said with a shrug. "That's what it says."  
"Sooo... is that the clue?" Bowser asked stupidly. No one even bothered to answer.

"What do you make of it, Wario?" Daisy asked, looking over at him. However, Wario didn't say a word. He was staring at the dagger with the strangest look on his face.  
He couldn't explain it. Looking at that dagger with its memo attached... It was like déjB vu had just up and kicked him in the nuts again. Why did it look so familiar?  
Suddenly, a light bulb flashed in his head. "Oh damn..." he said faintly. "I'm remembering something."  
Everyone immediately was quiet. They were deathly curious as to what it was that he remembered as a result of seeing this dagger...

"That dagger..." Wario recalled. "I remember about 3 nights ago, I had that dream where Mr V told me to kill Toad. In the dream, an invisible hand handed me that dagger and told me to use it. I don't know why I so readily agreed. Maybe subconsciously, Mr V was telling me why Toad needed to be killed, and I understood completely. Either that or I was just fuggin' freaked out as hell and couldn't say no. Regardless, I put the dagger in my pocket, and that was it. Then, when I woke up a few minutes later, the dagger was in my pocket for real. It was then that I went to do it..."  
"But you ended up chickening out, right?" Bowser recalled.  
"That's the thing. I still don't remember what happened in Toad's office that night. One thing's for sure, though - I did go in there with the dagger, and there was no memo attached to it. Then, when I left the office, I didn't have the dagger anymore..."

"Hmm..." Luigi thought, "Maybe you left it in there for some reason?"  
"Seems that way," Daisy decided. "I guess that means while you were in there, you wrote this memo and attached it to the dagger, then left it in the room. But, why would you do that?"  
"That's the question," Wario said. "Why did I want to kill Toad? And what was that I evidently 'knew'? And why the hell don't I know it anymore?"  
"I still don't get why you chickened out then, only to try and kill him later on DK Mountain. What the hell were you thinking?!" Bowser asked.

"I didn't chicken out!" Wario protested. "I just... I dunno, I still don't remember! I think something happened in there that made me have to postpone my assassination attempt. Again, though, I have no idea what!"  
"Well," deduced King Boo, "The fact that you tried to kill him on DK Mountain even after that suggests that you still subconsciously agreed with Mr V's reasons as to why Toad needed to die. Why else would you do something like that?"  
"Probably the same reason you helped me do it," Wario replied, "Cuz Mr V's freakin' scary!!"

"Oh yeah..." King Boo shamefully moaned.

"No, wait. King Boo, I think your onto something!" Daisy exclaimed. "Maybe that knowledge really IS still locked away in Wario's head somewhere! Maybe if there were some way to unlock it. Someone we could ask... Wario, what was your mindstate after you walked out of the office that night?"

Wario scratched his head and tried to recall. "Umm... I remember I was really tired, really pissed off about something, and there was a lot of really annoying Spanish running through my head..."

"I say we ask Mr V. Once he knows we got the clue, he'll tell us all the rest, I bet," Luigi suggested.  
"I dunno if he'll do that for us. He wants us to solve the mystery on our own, remember?" Daisy reminded him.  
"Maybe we could just jar Wario's memory a bit?" Bowser said. "I know some techniques my grandmama taught me to make people remember anything they've forgotten!"  
"Are they painful?" Wario asked nervously.  
"Pssh! Better believe it!" Bowser cracked.  
"Anybody we know speak Spanish?" King Boo wondered, who was clearly thinking on a different wavelength. "Maybe one of the mechanics in the DDG? I dunno. Just throwing stuff out there..."  
They were all at a loss. What could they do to answer the question of what happened to Wario while he was in Toad's office that night?

"Aw, screw Mr V!" Bowser eventually blurted. "Wario, we're joggin' your memory!" He quickly walked over and grabbed Wario by his overalls to prevent him from running away. "King Boo! Get your ass over here and help me!"  
"I don't have an ass anymore..." King Boo remarked.  
Bowser snorted. "Well, whatever the hell it is you have, get it over here!"  
King Boo quickly agreed and flew over to Bowser's aid.

Wario was shaking already. "W-What are you guys gonna do?!" he stammered.  
"Just a couple things," Bowser assured. "Be prepared for a little discomfort, though. King Boo! Grab Wario by his feet and hang him upside-down, 10 feet off the ground!"  
Wario gulped. He already didn't like how this was sounding.

Luigi and Daisy, meanwhile, were off to the side discussing amongst themselves. They hoped maybe they could answer some questions that Wario's memory alone might not be able to. "What I wonder is how did the dagger end up under Mario's bed?" Luigi said.  
"Yeah, I was wondering about that, too," Daisy replied. "I mean, I don't think he had anything to do with the DK Mountain accident. Why would he?"  
"Who knows? Who knows why anyone in our team would want to do anything like that?"  
"Hmm... I just don't know..."  
"I'm just assuming that if Wario was brave enough to admit it, I'd think Mario would have too. We all know Mario's twice the man Wario'll ever be."  
"Well, he is kinda regarded as a hero. He'd have more to lose if he let something like that slip..."  
"Wait, so you DO think Mario had something to do with it?"  
Daisy shook her head and closed her eyes. "Like I said, I just don't know..."

King Boo had Wario hanging upside down, 10 feet above the floor, just as Bowser had instructed. Bowser took out a small marble and placed it on the ground right below Wario's head.  
"OK," Bowser began, "Here's what's gonna happen - We're gonna drop Wario so his head lands square on the marble, and hopefully, it'll crack his skull against his brain so hard that it'll trigger his brain to release the memories! And this is scientifically based on absolutely nothing!"  
Wario shuddered and prepared for the worst.  
Bowser then took a deep breath and shouted, "DROP HIM!"

King Boo released Wario's legs. He yelped as he fell the 10 feet, and grunted in pain as his head struck the marble on the floor. He fell on the ground in a big heap, too dazed to stand up. Bowser walked over and King Boo floated down to see if he was OK.  
"Do you remember anything?" King Boo asked, turning Wario over.  
"Cuz if not, we can always try it again!" Bowser added.  
Wario had to viciously rub the small spot on his head that had landed on the marble to relieve the pain. While he did, he groaned in frustration. "You fat tub o' fat! I don't remember anything at all! That's gotta be the stupidest thing I've ever agreed to do!"  
"Even stupider than agreeing to kill Toad, only to end up killing my son instead?" Bowser said seriously.

Wario was about to reply, but he eventually decided there wasn't much to say. As much as he hated to admit it, he did owe Bowser for making such a grave mistake. The least he could do was let Bowser try again. Hopefully, Bowser would learn that his idiot grandmama's methods of memory revival didn't work. "OK Bowser, you wanna try again?"  
"If you want to," Bowser said. "Alternatively, we could try something else."  
Wario was pleased to hear that. He really didn't want to do that again. "Oh, sure! What else could we try?"  
"Weeell, there's one method I know. I don't remember exactly, but I remember it involves a stethoscope, an electrical outlet, some aluminum foil, and a whole lot of paper towels..."  
"Paper towels? For what?" King Boo asked.  
"Duh. To clean up the mess!"

Wario covered his face with his hands and wept softly.

"You know what just occurred to me? The same night the accident happened, Toad committed his suicide, right?"  
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's right. What are you trying to get at?"  
Daisy was trying to fill in the gaps of her theory with her own logic as best she could. "Well, let's just say Wario left the dagger with the attached memo in Toad's office for Toad to find. When he woke up, he saw the dagger, read the note, and knew someone was trying to kill him. He would've been completely sure of it after he almost got run over by that no doubt set up boulder on DK Mountain..."  
"Ah," Luigi deduced, "So you think maybe Toad knew Wario, or Mr V rather, was onto him, so he just killed himself because he knew he couldn't outrun it?"  
"Maybe, but I'm still trying to think more along the lines of 'why'..." Daisy said thoughtfully. "You see, why would the message 'I KNOW' mean anything to Toad? I'll tell you what I think - I think Toad did something bad that Mr V didn't approve of. The message probably told Toad that whatever he'd done, he was now being targeted for it. He then probably felt so guilty that he killed himself, hoping for forgiveness..."

Luigi raised an eyebrow. "...How on earth did you devise THIS theory?"  
"Beats me," Daisy replied with a shrug. "Maybe I'm just over-thinking that anyone's innocent anymore."  
"Ah, I see," Luigi agreed. "But still, you think Toad really killed himself because he felt bad for something he did?"  
"It's possible. I mean, you know how moral of a person Toad was. He'd feel terrible if he ever did anything wrong to anyone..."  
"Well, if Toad's as moral as we all thought, how could he do something so terrible as to make him want to kill himself? Hell, what do you think he could've possibly done?!"  
"Well, I... You know what? Just forget that. I don't know what I was thinking..."

At that moment, a loud _SNAP! CRACKLE!! POP!!_ filled the air. Daisy was so surprised she yelped and grabbed Luigi. The overhead lights flickered and almost seemed to burn out before slowly coming back on. A faint _ssssizzle_ how sounded in the room.  
Luigi and Daisy looked over and saw Bowser and King Boo staring at Wario, who looked like he'd just matched wits with an electric wire. He appeared to be wearing a stethoscope that was covered in aluminum foil, the tip of which had been jammed into an electrical outlet. Smoke wafted from his ears and nose, and his bloodshot eyes made it look like he'd just gotten his brain fried. Well, in truth, that's kinda what actually happened. It was the stupidest-looking thing in the history of ever.

King Boo carefully pulled the stethoscope's earplugs out of Wario's ears. Wario still did not move. He didn't even blink. He was in such a state of shock that he was drooling out of the corner of his mouth. Bowser knelt down in front of Wario and gave him a fresh claw slap across the face. It snapped him out of it slightly.  
"You remember anything yet?" Bowser asked.

Wario's wide eyes slowly looked up into Bowser's. He stared for a long time. It was impossible to tell what Wario was trying to say with that glare. They were almost afraid he was gonna pounce on Bowser and rip his tongue out.

But to their surprise, a tear had begun to form in Wario's left eye...  
And slowly, somewhat jerkily, Wario nodded.  
"Y-Yeah..." he muttered. "I remember now... I remember everything..."  
"Tell us," Bowser insisted, a haunting seriousness in his voice. "Tell us everything you remember! In the meantime, King Boo! Get those paper towels over here and clean up the mess! And some clean underwear! Hurry up! Ugh, it smells like rotten ASS over here...!"

* * *

Petey stood alone in the dark office of Mr V himself. It was all silent, save for the clattering of his big teeth. He was so nervous he wanted to fly out the window right then and there. He stood his ground, though. He knew this conversation with Mr V had to be done, no matter how scary it might have been...

"_Petey Pirahna..._"

Petey screamed loudly, but quickly threw his leaf arms over his big mouth and shut himself up. Then, clearing his throat, he replied with a small utterance in plant talk.  
"_Before we begin, there is something I need for you to do. It will make this whole affair much easier for the both of us._"  
Petey didn't understand what he meant, but he nodded anyway.  
"_I need for you to reach into the top left drawer of my desk and take out the bottle of pills inside. Once you do, please take one. You'll find out what it's for after you do._"  
Petey naturally questioned this.  
"_If I tell you what will the pills do, then it will lead to many more unnecessary questions. Do as I say. I promise it won't be harmful to you in any way. Just trust me._"

Considering Mr V was such a mysterious guy, Petey found it odd that he would be demanding so much trust so suddenly... Meh, ah well. Can't argue with the President! Petey quickly nodded and waddled over to the desk, where he located the top left drawer and pulled it open.  
Nothing was inside. Petey looked up from the desk and voiced this in his native tongue.  
"_Empty, you say? My apologies. Look again!_"

Petey looked back down into the drawer. To his amazement, there lay a small orange bottle of pills laying against the side of the drawer. Petey screamed again and jumped backwards. He wasn't gonna deal with this Temple of Optics crap! This was just too much!  
"_Come now, Petey... I just put it there when you weren't looking! I do it all the time! Oh, and I remember the Temple of Optics from the Paper Mario IAS, too. That part was pretty wild, wasn't it?_"  
Petey's huge mouth hung open in shock. Had Mr V just read his mind then, too? Aw, now he was REALLY outta there!  
"_Petey, no! I demand you take one of those pills! No questions! Understood?!_"  
Petey slowly backed away from the drawer, furiously shaking his head. He was just too freaked out. He couldn't stand the idea of speaking with Mr V, let alone taking one of his pills. Who the hell knew what would happen to him? It scared him just wondering about it.  
"_Petey! Get back there and take the pill! Now!!_"  
The sound of Mr V's voice shouting at him drove Petey to the breaking point. He finally screamed out loud and began to make a run for the door.  
"_PETEY! STOP IT THIS INSTANT!!_"

With that, an invisible fist socked Petey in the throat. It caused him to stumble back right into the desk and land on his behind. Petey was so shocked he hardly made any effort to stand up after the blow. He just sat there, staring into the darkness out of his non-existent eyes, which if they had existed, would've been wide with fright at that moment.  
"_...I apologize Petey. I didn't want to hurt you, but you left me no choice. But at least we understand one another now, correct?_"  
Petey just nodded. He couldn't do much else.  
"_Good. Now, take as much time as you need to do this. Just take that bottle of pills, open it, pop one into your mouth, and swallow it. Can you do that for me?_"  
Petey nodded slowly again. However, he still wasn't moving, and he wasn't reaching for the drawer above him.  
"_Here, I'll help you out,_" Mr V insisted. Overhead, Petey could hear the sound of a cap popping, and not a second later saw a small white pill fell from above and right into his leaf arm.  
"_There you are. Now all you have to do is swallow. Then we can begin. Is that clear?_"

Petey stared at the pill in his hand, then into the darkness of the office. Not knowing where to look or how to respond, Petey simply gave another nod.  
"_I appreciate it. Now please, proceed._"  
Petey did just that. Not bothering to give the issue much thought anymore, he finally found the courage to rear his head back, drop the pill in his open maw, and let it slide down his throat. Mere seconds after doing so, he could feel his body growing numb and tingly. His bulbous head wobbled from side to side, trying to retain consciousness. His efforts were in vain, though, for he eventually toppled over, hitting his head hard on the wooden ground before falling fast asleep...

...

The next thing Petey saw surprised him more than the time he found out Darth Vader was Luke's father, which is a pretty big deal. He found himself standing in a barren desert wasteland, with not a single living thing in sight, save for the conspicuous trail of flowers that grew at his feet. Looking ahead, he noticed that the flower trail grew from the rocky desert terrain itself and created a trail of beautiful colors that ran all the way out to the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to rise. Or perhaps set? He wasn't sure, but wherever he was, he knew he wasn't on planet Earth anymore.

A shadow suddenly cast across the horizon, and Petey noticed a small figure walking through the foliage towards him. The glaring sunlight at its back made it difficult for Petey to see, but as it finally came close, Petey found it to be something rather... odd. It was a small man, maybe four feet tall, wearing a leprechaun suit with a pancho over it. On its head was what looked like a German spiked helmet. Strangely enough, its face was blocked by a shifting cloud of mist that seemed to float perpetually in front of the face as a way of keeping it unseen.  
The strange little man made no hesitation to speak. "_Hello Petey. Welcome to the place I call home._"

Petey recognized the voice right away - Mr V. However, was this little Mexican-German leprechaun really Mr V?  
"Are you kidding me, man?!" Petey asked. "Mr V...? But you can't be Mr V! You just can't be!"  
Petey then threw his leafy hands over his mouth. "What the-!" he muttered to himself. "...What the hell's this crap comin' outta my mouth?!"  
'Mr V' chuckled almost playfully. "_It's English. Get used to it. It's the only language I allow to be spoken here. Besides, it makes it easier for the readers to follow the conversation._"  
Petey slowly lowered his arms away from his mouth. "Readers? What the heck are you talking about?"  
Mr V just shook his smoky, misty head and stood at attention. "_...Well Petey, suffice to say that, despite what you might be thinking, I am Mr V. This isn't my real shape, of course. I just figured my preferred shape would be a bit much for a coward such as yourself to handle, so I decided to experiment a bit to make it more suitable. I'd say it worked out nicely. This combination of Earth cultures mixes quite well, does it not?_"  
Petey just laughed and shook his head. "Pssh. Whatever, man..."

Mr V nodded. "_Whatever indeed. Let us begin, shall we?_"  
"Yeah, alright! Let's get started," Petey agreed, clapping his leaves together.  
"_Glad to see you're ready. Now, I will let you say the first words. Ask me any one question you have right now, and we will carry on from there._"  
Petey didn't have to think long about his first question. He bore down upon Mr V's small stature and said, "OK then Mr V. I got just one question - Are YOU the one behind the accidents?!"

Mr V just laughed deeply again. "_Heh. Quite a vague question, as I suspected. But then again, I don't blame you for asking that. As for my answer, I will say this - I am mostly responsible for the accident that happened on DK Mountain, and I was indirectly involved with the Daisy Cruiser catastrophe. Other than that, no. I had no part in the Wario Colosseum or Mushroom Bridge tragedies. Of this, I assure you._"

Petey clearly didn't believe a word of it. "Oh yeah? Well the who DID cause those first two accidents?"  
"_Do you really want to know at this point?_" Mr V wondered. "_After all, that's precisely what Group 1 is investigating, and what Group 2 is destined to find out soon enough. You should take this opportunity to ask me about details that they otherwise wouldn't be able to obtain..._"  
"Screw you! I'll ask whatever questions I want!"  
"_Your call, I suppose. However, I recommend giving a lot of thought to the matter. Time stands still in this particular place, so you literally have all the time in the world. So please, just take the time to ponder over what questions really matter..._"

Petey was already frustrated. He really wanted all the bare-boned facts and nothing much else. However, maybe Mr V had a point... Mr V clearly knew a lot. Seriously, a LOT. Perhaps it would've been better to ask about other things first? Like, what was Mr V's involvement in the Daisy Cruiser accident? That might've been a good one to ask next...

Petey pondered over what question he should ask next. There were just so many, he couldn't decide which to start with. Mr V waited patiently for Petey to make a decision. After all, like he'd said, they quite literally had all the time in the world that they needed.

At last, Petey opened his mouth to speak. "OK Mr V, I think I'm kinda curious about the Daisy Cruiser accident. See, cuz I was at first pretty sure it was Wario that was gonna be the next to die cuz I saw Bowser threatening him. But then, it turns out Waluigi dies right before my eyes! Or, wait. I don't have eyes. Oh, and I didn't actually see him die. I kinda turned away... But whatever, you see my point! I wanna know the details behind the Daisy Cruiser accident, please!"

"_The Daisy Cruiser accident, you ask? Very well then,_" Mr V said, adjusting his spiked helmet slightly. "_The formula for this incident began brewing back at the time of the Mushroom Bridge disaster. You see, Peach's hospitalization from her leg injury greatly depressed Mario, mainly because he was unable to have sex with her. On the other hand, Daisy was upset at Luigi for being such a coward during the disaster, and for being a weak person in general. Mario's sex drive and Daisy's desire for a stronger partner brought the two together, and ultimately, led them to having an affair. Luigi caught them in the act, and not knowing what to do, began to contemplate getting revenge on Mario. I took the opportunity to magnify his thoughts and scope of revenge, thus leading him to dream of killing Mario during the next race..._"  
"Aha!" Petey interrupted. "So it WAS all your fault!! You bastard!!"  
"_Please! Let me finish!_" Mr V ordered, holding up a small hand to quiet Petey down. "_...Considering Luigi's heart was rather weak, I was able to manipulate his feelings with relative ease. I had him secretly convince DK and Birdo that Mario was the one responsible for the Wario Colosseum accident, which as you know cost Yoshi his walking ability and Diddy his life. DK and Birdo agreed to help Luigi carry out his plan of sabotaging Mario on the Daisy Cruiser..._"  
"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!" Petey stuttered. "MARIO caused the Wario Colosseum accident to happen?!"  
"_No!_" Mr V replied roughly. "_Now let me continue! Mario woke up early the day of the Daisy Cruiser race to inspect the ship on Daisy's behalf, while Luigi, DK, and Birdo secretly followed him. Once he was done and off the ship, Luigi and DK loosened the bolts of the curving staircase near the pool. They planned to have Birdo team up with Mario as the driver, so that when the two reached the staircase, Birdo would stop the car, jump out, and leave Mario and the kart on the staircase so that it would eventually collapse. Thus, Mario would be injured, or perhaps even thrown off the side of the boat..._"

Mr V stopped for a second, just to make sure Petey didn't plan on interrupting. Petey appeared to be listening, so Mr V adjusted his pancho a bit and continued. "_When it came time for the race, all went as planned up until Birdo abandoned Mario and kart on the stairs. It turns out Luigi and DK hadn't loosened the bolts quite enough, and he was able to retreat before the collapsation. However, the babies then came driving and got stuck on the stairs themselves, pitting them in danger of suffering Mario's intended fate instead. Mario ran up to rescue them, and as he did, the stairs finally broke loose, and the babies ended up being thrown overboard while Mario suffered a sharp metal beam to the back..._"

"Ooohh..." Petey muttered. "That explains the busted staircase Waluigi and I drove down..."  
"_You see,_" Mr V resumed, "_Mario was actually meant to die and the babies were never meant to have any part in it at all. However, I took their fates into my own hands at that moment in time..._"  
"OK, so let me get this straight," Petey blurted, "You DIDN'T want Mario to die, but you DID want the babies to be thrown overboard?"  
"_Precisely._"  
"Why the hell would you want that to happen?! And, wait! What does Waluigi have anything to do with this?!"  
"_Let me finish and you'll know, you vision-impairing beast!_" Mr V remarked. "_I had the babies thrown overboard so that eventually, the boat would have to be thrown in reverse in order to safely retrieve them. I had to time it exactly so that you and Waluigi would be fired up the funnel at the exact moment Daisy threw the boat's motor into reverse..._"

Petey gawked and stared at Mr V with his mouth hung open. "Are you serious?! DAISY's the one that did it?!"  
"_Out of desperation for own son and nephew, yes,_" Mr V said. "_I'm sure you know all the details from there on, so I'll spare you. As you can see, what began as a misguided sexual affair eventually led to Luigi wanting some revenge upon his older brother. However, despite his initial not-so-devious intentions, his plan would have killed Mario. Make no mistake about that. After taking matters into my own hands, of course, that did not happen. Instead, you can probably say I transferred his fated death to Waluigi instead. So, there you have it. Any questions, Petey?_"  
Petey was still standing there in total disbelief. He couldn't understand why Mr V would do so much elaborate crap just to have someone killed. In fact, that was his next question. "Just the one question I already asked, Mr V- why did you want WALUIGI to die?!"

Mr V lowered his smoggy black head slightly. "_Because, as the former Items Commissioner of the Double Dash team, he's the one that planted the dynamite on the Blue Shell that demolished Mushroom Bridge__._"

"WHAAAT?!" Petey gasped. "But... But why would that make you wanna kill him? I mean, I know that's terrible but-!"  
"_It's not the fact that he blew up the bridge that matters!__" _Mr V almost screamed. _"__It's the sole fact that he allowed himself to be influenced by the most heartless person to ever hold a position of power...!!_"

Even though Petey couldn't see Mr V's face, he could almost tell that Mr V was filled to the brim with anger. Petey slowly took a few steps back, just to give him some space.  
Mr V had to shake off a bit of his rage and sigh before he could resume speaking. "_I apologize for flying off the handle like that, Petey. It's just... Well, if you had my job, you'd be pretty depressed by this whole situation as well..._"  
"Which job?" Petey wondered. "Vice President? Or President?"  
"_Neither,_" Mr V answered almost ominously. "_I mean my true job..._"

Petey was awfully curious about what Mr V meant by this. However, he was also curious about the whole mystery in general as well. Aye, so many questions!

* * *

Toadette continued to sit in her chair, turned away and facing the window, staring out into the night. They could only guess what the expression on her face might have been at that moment. Paratroopa, for reasons unknown, could not bring himself to read the word-processed document on the computer screen before him, and backed away slowly, whimpering to himself.  
Thus, DK, Yoshi, and Birdo read the computer document on screen quietly to themselves. They each read at their own pace, but regardless, the message was the same to them all. This is what the document read:

--

**It's just two weeks until the Rainbow World Cup! What an honor to be racing in Nintendo's biggest annual racing event! Rumor has it that the team we'll be racing against will be the cast of the F-Zero series. That's hardly fair - those crazy machines can move like, 600 mph! But that's OK, cuz those vehicles aren't made for tracks like Rainbow Road. At those speeds, they'll be flyin' off the edge at every turn! Should make for a pretty interesting race! Well, even though admittedly,. we may lose, it'll still be an honor to have raced in such a high division against a team of truly qualified racers. I'm so excited about this, I'm gonna begin preparations right now! Maybe I'll give Capt Falcon a call and wish him good luck, just for the heck of it!**

**I talked with Capt Falcon yesterday, and I gotta say, the conversation was less than fun. Through and through, he made me think a little bit about... certain matters. The races he and his team participate in are so entertaining partly because of the risk involved. Cars crashing, things exploding... Craziness! He also informed me that the Rainbow World Cup is rigged so that the more popular team always wins. I guess that explains why the F-Zero team has won it every year for the past 3 years. I created Double Dash 3 years ago, and now's our chance at glory by winning that Cup! Oh man, how glorious it would be to win that...**

**Mr V called me today and gave me a warning of some kind. Told me not to let my position as President get to my head or some BS like that. That I shouldn't thrive for publicity just for the sake of winning something. I dunno. That guy... He used to freak me out, but I barely listen to anything he says anymore. The guy's crazy, no doubt about it. 100 whacked out in the head. He seems to forget sometimes that he's the Vice President, and that he doesn't actually have to right to tell me how to run my own team. Still, I gotta wonder why he would say stuff like that... Meh, no I don't. Screw him. I'll be dead before I listen to another word that monster says. Methinks it's time for a new Vice pretty soon. But who to recruit...?**

**Talked to Capt Falcon again today. We're both real pumped up for the Rainbow World Cup - just a little more than a week away now! Yeah! But... he said something that got me thinking again. He recommended that maybe I oughtta bump up the risk factor of my races so that maybe we could be matched in popularity come time for the actual event. Pretty ridiculous, I gotta say. Double Dash has always been about total safety, and there being as little risk as possible - only implied risk. I look at the Safety Award we won just yesterday afternoon, and it reminds me of all that Double Dash stands for. Of course, the more I think about it, I can kinda sorta see where he's coming from... Besides, have you seen the size of that Cup? Man, how I'd love to get my hands on that beauty...**

**One week before the Rainbow World Cup. Despite my earlier self-debating, I've decided to take Capt Falcon's advice. Being my head automechanics, I've hired Koopa and Paratroopa to slightly loosen the bolts securing the wheel of one of the Turbo Yoshis. So, if anyone happens to use that kart during the Wario Colosseum race today, there's the possibility of a little spill happening. And, as cruel as it seems, since Mario is the chief Safety Inspector of the league, I can maybe just blame him if anything does end up happening. That would sure get our popularity boosted! Maybe if this goes well, I might plan a few more mishaps to happen within the week leading up to the Rainbow World Cup, hopefully boosting our popularity enough to match that of F-Zero's! Oh, the excitement! I can almost feel that trophy in my hands!**

**...Oh my God. How could this have happened? My intended little spill... This can't be true. I never wanted this to happen. Yoshi... I'm sorry, Yoshi. And Diddy Kong... Oh, Diddy... How can I ever forgive myself? This whole plan was blown completely out of proportion, and I dragged Koopa and Paratroopa into all of this, too. And because of it, one of our youngest racers is dead... I refuse to believe it. There's nothing to do now expect put it behind me, and be more careful in my next attempt... Yes, I'll try again. I have to perfect this art of causing mishaps to bring out publicity rating up. As much as it pains me to say, the death of Diddy DID give us quite a boost... But it's not enough. Just a little more, and we could match F-Zero. Yeah, just a little more...**

**Mr V called me again. He was saying all this stuff about how bad he felt for Diddy and Yoshi, and how he knew how much I wanted the publicity. No doubt, the bastard is trying to make me feel guilty. I already feel bad enough without that lunatic telling me. Screw him. Screw him to Hell. He doesn't understand...**

**No... Not again. That bomb shouldn't have been that powerful. Is dynamite really that powerful? But those sticks are so small... Dear God, I've done it again. I've broken her royal highness's leg, completely destroyed Mushroom Bridge, and... caused the death of yet another racer. Koopa, I dragged you into my plot, and now I've killed you. If I could speak to you right now, I'd beg for your forgiveness. This just isn't going as planned. I have to stop this... But, the ratings. Oh, the rating... We've matched F-Zero's publicity now! Yes! I've reached my goal at last! Now we have a fighting chance at winning the Rainbow World Cup! ...Hmmm... Perhaps... If we could just... boost them up a wee bit higher... we'd surpass them. Then, we'd be guaranteed to win. But, is it worth it? After all the damage I've caused already...? Yes. I just have to be extra careful this time. Perhaps just an extra large barrage of fake boulders on DK Mountain. Yeah... that should be enough to bump our ratings just high enough...**

**Mr V called again. He said how he'd warned me not to let this happen. What the hell does he mean by 'this'? I swear, if he calls me again, I'm gonna find some way to trace the line to his location and fuckin' strangle him. I hung up on him without a second thought, before even letting him finish. Weird thing is, I thought I still heard his voice even after I did... Naw, this whole thing is just getting to my head. I've made a promise to not risk anymore death. I just hope all goes as planned, and that Mr V stays the hell out of my business...**

**I woke up this morning and found something pinned to my desk. My plans to increase the number of styrofoam boulders rolling down DK Mountain - stabbed into the desk by a dagger. And a small memo attached to its handle... Oh no. They know. They know what I've been doing... They know my awful ideas to give us a chance to win the Rainbow World Cup. Oh, please no... God, help me. Whoever knows, please let them forgive me enough not to tell the others. I'm deep enough shit as it is...**

**Another death today. Bowser Jr... That giant, flaming boulder. It wasn't mine, but I can't help but feel it was after me. Yes... I should've been the one crushed to death beneath that thing, not Bowser Jr. He never did anything wrong. Me... I've done all the wrong anyone could possibly do. I know it. They're onto me. I've gotta do something about this... The ratings... higher than F-Zero now. Perfect. We'll win for sure. Yes, we'll win the Rainbow World Cup for sure. Yeah... We'll win it. I know it. I just know it...**

**Mr V... He's not human. He's after me. To punish me for what I did. He warned me, but I didn't listen. Now, he's after me. He won't stop until I'm gone for good. I know... My existence is a plague to Double Dash now. My unforgivable acts... They've been evil. That's all there is to it. They've been pure evil. I've killed... I've committed murder. I've sinned. The fact that I'm alive only means further suffering for Double Dash, the team I created so I could race with my sister. Toadette, my little sister... I love you so much. I don't want this for you. I don't want this for anybody. Mario... I'm sorry for what I've done to your name. I'm sorry Yoshi, Peach, Diddy, Koopa, Bowser Jr... I'm sorry to everybody. I will put an end to this. The least I can do for all of you is have the will enough to end this myself. Please, forgive me. And please, win that Rainbow World Cup that I desired so much as to cause all of this...  
...Mr V... Thank you...**

**--**

That was all there was. DK, Yoshi, and Birdo had long since been in tears. When they finally finished, they turned towards Paratroopa, who was crying to himself as well. It was clear why he'd avoided reading this - it revealed the truth that he had been responsible for Yoshi and Diddy's accident. Yoshi and Birdo glared at him in a somewhat sad and angry disbelief. Yoshi himself was so upset he almost toppled over on his crutches.  
DK was particularly struck hard by this news. However, instead of going absolutely ape on Paratroopa like was half-expected, he instead buried his face in his large hands and sobbed heavily.

They realized, too, that Paratroopa wasn't the one to blame. It was Toad. Toad... their perfect President, had let the lust of a trophy and his power to achieve it overcome his true kind spirit. It was utterly unbelievable... a disheartening example of what power and desire to win could do to someone. And to think, this whole horrific display of human frailty and despair had evolved solely because Toad had wanted to race with his younger sister...

The four looked at Toadette, who was still turned away in her armchair, staring out at the night sky. They understood her feelings now, too...  
No, they didn't. They couldn't even possibly begin to understand what she was feeling. Her own loving brother... A murderer. The reality must not have even seemed a reality to her. At least not yet. She appeared lost in a dream. A dream of better days in the past, before Double Dash had taken its turn for the worst at the hands of her brother...

They wondered, should they talk to her? Console her? Or just leave her be? It was hard for them to come to a decision. The poor girl must've been in such distress...

* * *

Mr V was acting awfully secretive about his 'true job', whatever the hell that meant, and Petey knew it. But then, if he wanted to keep it a secret, why had he mentioned it in the first place? He should've known it would make Petey curious. What an idiot!  
"_Petey, if you're so curious about my true job, why not just ask? I've already said you can ask me whatever you need to._"  
Petey snapped out of his thoughts. He'd forgotten for a second that Mr V could read his mind. "Huh? Oh, umm... alright then. I'm curious about your 'true job' and stuff. What do you actually do?"

Mr V looked up into the orange-glazed sky for a second, as though asking some higher power to forgive him for the secret he was about to reveal. He then lowered his head again, looked at Petey, and began.  
"_For nearly three years, you knew me as your Vice President, and just recently, I became your President. However, in truth, my position is much higher. It is something that is very difficult to explain, especially for an inferior-minded being like yourself..._"  
"Hey!" Petey shouted, "You callin' me stupid?!"  
"_Precisely._"  
"...Oh. OK. Carry on."  
"_Thank you. I shall. You see, I don't fully exist in the physical world. My real home is here in the subconscious, the land in which the only borders are those separating people's minds. Spiritually, I am of a much higher level than that of any living thing on Earth. You might even say I'm a sort of... god._"  
"Whoa! No way! YOU'RE God?!" Petey gawked. "Wow! Can I have your autograph?"  
"_No, you don't understand Petey. I may be a god by your standards, but I'm not THE God. The REAL God is of such a high rank in the universe that even I have never met It. I merely do the job It requires of me. However, I can still give you an autograph if you'd like, but only later._"  
"Meh, forget it. Have a word with the REAL God, and we'll talk."  
"_...Moving on. Now, I've described to you more or less what I am, so now to explain what I do. You see, the planet Earth is naught more than just one of God's experiments with life. Very few planets in the universe at the moment have life on them, for God is still experimenting with it. As a result, It has left a guardian deity on each experimental planet to oversee the progress of life on each. As you can probably tell by now, I was the one left in charge of overseeing Project Earth. My primary job is to maintain the balance of good and evil in this world. For example; if a tyrant begins to abuse his power for personal gain, I see fit to destroy him._"

Petey had trouble believing that. "What?! So you can go around and kill any evil, power-abusing person you want, and yet George W Bush is still alive over there in the US? What's up with that?! And where were you when Hitler was killing off all of those people in the Holocaust and stuff, huh? Why'd you let him kill 6 million+ people before doing something about it?!"

"_Trust me, Petey. I wanted Hitler dead as much as anybody during that time. However, it's not as easy for me to kill as you might be thinking. It's not like I can just say 'Die!' and suddenly, poof! They're dead! I can only influence their mind and the mind of those around them to cause them to die. I'll spare you the details, but I was very pleased to have eventually made him die by being run over by a pack of angry sheep._"

"Sheep?!" Petey questioned. "But... That's not true! He took poison and killed himself!"  
"_Hehe... Nope. That's just what his followers said to make his death seem noble. In reality, it was sheep that did him in._"  
"Ah..."  
"_Indeed. And George W Bush is pretty corrupt, but he'll be out of office soon, and he'll surely never be re-elected again. On top of that, I haven't seen such hilarious strings of political cartoons starring a US President since the days of Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis. If anything, it's worth it to keep Bush around just for that! Ha!_"  
Petey just stared blankly. "You're one freaky guy."  
"_Thank you. I get that a lot._"

Petey's big mouth curved downward into a frown. "So, if that's true... then how did you become the Vice President of the Double Dash team?"  
"_Simple. I manipulated Toad's mind into believing that I'd been elected._"  
"That's it? But why would you feel the need to do that?"  
"_I'm going to be straightforward with you - Toad was the one who caused the first two accidents earlier this week. He is the one who caused the deaths of two racers, and the consequences of his actions has resulted in the death of three others, including himself. And he did it because he'd been desiring the Rainbow World Cup for so long that when he finally realized he had the power of the Presidency he could use, he was willing to even put people's lives in danger to obtain it. I forced my way into the position of the Vice President 3 years ago upon hearing of his rise to power, and I'd been hot on his tail ever since._"

Petey was left utterly speechless by Mr V's words Did he say that TOAD had been the one behind the first two accidents? All because he wanted to win the Rainbow World Cup?!  
"_It's not just that he wanted to win the Cup, but that he also had to power to do what he had to in order to win it._"  
Petey had to let that settle in his mind for a few minutes. Mr V understood that it was a difficult thing for Petey to process, so he waited patently for Petey's next statement.

Petey then asked a question. "But... Why Toad? Why did you feel the need to go after him? Surely, there are other more corrupt people on the planet that you could've been targeting instead..."  
Mr V laughed. "_Oh, you simple plant! Who said I could only target one person at a time? Being a somewhat 'multi-dimensional' being, I can exist within the minds of as many people as I'd like. See, even as I'm talking to you at this moment, I'm also over in Cuba trying to aid in Castro's assassination. Man, he's been a tough one! Thankfully, though, I've managed to get him infected with testicular cancer. He'll be dead from it in a few years, assuming he doesn't die of old age, first..._"  
"Testicular cancer?!" Petey asked. "But, I heard-!"  
He stopped himself. He knew what Mr V was going to say, so he just bothered not finishing.

"_Well, I hope you've learned a lot here..._" Mr V said diligently.  
"I have. Maybe I've learned a little too much..." Petey moaned.  
"_Hoho, don't worry. You'll forget it all with time. Speaking of time, we still have infinite amounts of time left. If you perhaps have a few more questions about, say, Lakitu's whereabouts or something related, feel free to ask! Otherwise, I've covered all that's truly necessary to know at this point, so I can wake you up and we can wait patiently for the rest to arrive..._"

Petey rubbed his big head with his leaf arm for several seconds. His tiny brain was currently overloaded with information, and he needed to let it be absorbed before asking his last few questions. Mr V merely waited patiently.

Petey was eventually ready for some more info. Hopefully, this would be the last batch he would get. "OK Mr V. Got just a couple more questions."  
"_Alright. Shoot,_" Mr V replied coolly.  
"K. First question - what happened to Lakitu? Where'd he run off to?"  
"_Toad has sent him on an all-expenses paid vacation to Isle Delfino, which he was promised would start directly after initiating the countdown for the Mushroom Bridge Race. It was all part of Toad's plan to increase the risk factor of the races. You see, the reason Toad caused these accidents to win the Rainbow World Cup is because the Cup is generally awarded to the more popular racing team. Because Double Dash's ratings were lower than those of your rivals, the F-Zero team, Toad hoped that bumping the danger level of the races up would boost ratings. So, on top of his elaborate accident schemes, he also sent Lakitu away to make the races overall more dangerous. Don't worry, though - Lakitu will return tomorrow afternoon in time for the Rainbow World Cup.__"_  
Petey was at first surprised to hear the their rivals for the Rainbow World Cup were going to be the F-Zero cast, but eventually decided that was irrelevant to the point. "Ohhh... That makes sense now," he said. "See, I was wondering why Toad would think that a bunch of accidents would give us a bigger chance at winning that Cup..."  
"_Indeed. Anything else?__"_

"Yeah," Petey continued. "You know the day after the Mushroom Bridge blew up, someone locked us all into an '_Employees Only_' room and basically forced us to talk about the accidents? Oh, wait. You know, like, EVERYthing. So yeah, who arranged all that stuff?"  
"_Yes, I know what you're referring to. The one who arranged that meeting was actually Mario himself. Like the rest of you, he was merely thirsting for knowledge out of fear that he or his close friends might be the next to die. He denied arranging the meeting because he wanted to avoid suspicion from everyone else. I observed the conversation, and in fact, it was then that I began to influence Wario's mind into wanting to kill Toad. I'm also the one who opened the door for you all to leave when I was sure you'd discussed enough. Oh, and King Boo wasn't invited because Mario knew he'd be able to fly through the door and allow everyone to escape that way. Yup._"

"Awesome. Stuff's starting to make sense now!" Petey chirped excitedly. "Now I got a couple more questions about you, Mr V. Answer honestly!"  
"_I shall,__" _Mr V promised.

"OK, I've been thinking a little about this lately, and I think it's BS that you had no part in the Mushroom Bridge accident. So, don't lie to me - you did something to make things work out the way they did. Whaddja do?!"  
"_Hmhmm... You're more clever than I thought Petey!__" _Mr V laughed. "_Alright, I'll be honest - I did slightly sway the fate of that disaster as well, similar to what I did on the Daisy Cruiser. The explosive Spiny Shell was originally going to strike Luigi and Daisy, but I provoked Luigi and Daisy to pull off a Mini-Turbo that ultimately shot them out of its path. From then on, by influencing the minds of Mario, Peach, and Koopa, I managed to get Koopa killed, for he was my main target. I wished to annihilate him for his and Paratroopa's falling under Toad's command to rig the Turbo Yoshi that led to Yoshi's injuries and Diddy's death. Just doing my job of maintaining justice in the world._"

"Ohhh... OK." Petey said. "But, what about Paratroopa? You said he helped rig that car, too!"  
"_Well, Koopa and Paratroopa were best friends, of course. I figured it would suffice to simply kill one, which would thereby sentence the other to an even greater punishment - being forced to live with his guilt, as well as the knowledge of his best friend's untimely demise. Koopa was in a far more desperate situation when Mushroom Bridge exploded, so I decided it would be easiest to have him be the one to die, and Paratroopa be the one to live.__"_

"I see. I see. Interesting..." Petey said thoughtfully. "So, You were targeting not only Toad, but also those who fell under his influence and did his bidding?"  
"_Exactly. They only did what Toad told them to do because they were bribed. Anyone willing to put others' lives in danger for the sake of money is evil in my book. And my book is official._"  
"I get it. So that's why you stuck around for the Daisy Cruiser race. So you could finish off Waluigi for what he did on Mushroom Bridge. Or rather, what he tried to do?"  
"_You're smartening up, Petey. Well done.__"_  
"And Wario's whole 'flaming boulder' thing on DK Mountain was one of your plots to assassinate Toad, done through Wario, right? So why didn't that work out? Why did Bowser Jr end up dying instead? Weren't you watching over it to make sure it went smoothly and stuff?_"_  
"_I was, but sadly, I couldn't interfere. I'd have influenced Toad to jump right out of the kart and stand there to allow the boulder to run over him. However, Toadette's loving hope that he would survive wouldn't allow me. Love - especially the family kind - can create barriers like that. Makes things very difficult sometimes. Of course, at that point, Toadette didn't know about her brother's crimes. Even if she had, though, I doubt she'd have taken down her barrier of love to allow me to do what I hoped to do. I suppose it doesn't matter anymore, though...__"_  
"Well, it wasn't a TOTAL failure, was it?" Petey asked. "I mean, wasn't that near-death experience the last thing that drove Toad to commit suicide?"

"_Hmm... Yes, I suppose it was.__"_  
"Yeah, so that accident DID kill Toad! Indirectly, I mean. Regardless, it was still a success, yeah?"  
"_Why... Yes, you're right! Heh... Thank you, Petey. You may even be more intelligible than I.__"_  
"Really?"  
"_Well... no.__"_  
"Aww..."  
"_Besides, it's hard for me to overcome that fact that I killed an innocent child in my attempt to reach my goal. Sure, Bowser Jr was bound to become a bumbling fool like his father, but still... I suppose all that matters is I've finished what I came to do._"

This statement of Mr V's confused Petey. "But... Mr V. If you've done your job, why are you still hangin' around here? Why do you want us to know all the answers so badly?"  
"_Because...__" _Mr V explained, "_By knowing these truths, it will lead all your lives in a better direction. After all, that's what I'm here on this planet for - to oversee the life of Project Earth. Additionally, I hope to see you win the Rainbow World Cup. Under the circumstances, it would be just awful if you were to not win it. After all, it was Toad's lust for that Cup that caused this string of heartbreaking events to happen at all. As Chief Justice of the world, I must see to it that you win that Cup at all costs. And believe me - this knowledge you are obtaining will give you the will you need to win!_"  
Petey smiled at the thought. "Yeah! We ARE gonna win the Rainbow World Cup! Don't worry, Mr V! We'll make sure everyone's deaths and injuries and sorrows and all that crap won't be in vain! We's gonna be victorious!"  
"_Yes! That's what I like to hear!__"_  
"Uh-huh! Besides, ain't no way we can lose - We got a frickin' GOD backing us up!"

Mr V was silent for a little while, and as was Petey. The two just stood there in the field of flowers sprouting up from the desert landscape. The sun hadn't moved from its spot on the horizon. It was still just sitting there, waiting to set. Or rise. Petey didn't know.  
Mr V at last asked, "_So, ready to wake up?__"_  
"Ehh... Just about. One more question, though."  
"_Absolutely._"  
"Yeah. It's just... Why did you choose that get-up?!_"_  
Mr V examined his clothing; A leprechaun costume with a pancho draped over, all topped off by a German spike helmet on his mist-shrouded head. "_Well, it's... complicated to explain. You see, in order to give you the true reason, I'd have to break the fourth wall. No, completely demolish it. Utterly blow it to dust. You wouldn't want that, would you?__"_  
"Pssh! I don't care! Just at least gimme a clue or something!"  
"_OK, OK. My articles of clothing represent the ethnicties of someone... Very important to me...__"_  
"Who?!" Petey urged. "And while I'm at it - What does the 'V' in your name stand for, anyway?!"  
"_I've already said FAR too much!__" _Mr V replied quickly. "_You will wake up now!__"_  
Petey crossed his leaves over his chest. "Aww, fine. Bastard..."  
"_Good-bye Petey. I will see you again soon...__"_

The sun across the horizon then quickly began to set, and as it did, all the light in the surrounding landscape began to disappear. The world faded to pitch black, and Mr V's form seemed to sink away into the darkness itself. Within moments, all was dark, and all was silent...  
And the next thing Petey knew, he was awake. Back in Mr V's office. The light was on, and the door was wide open. These signs alone were enough to tell Petey that Mr V was no longer there. Where he had gone, Petey didn't know. However, Mr V's last words rang in his head over and over and over again...

"_Good-bye Petey. I will see you again soon...__"_

* * *

"Umm... Wario? What the hell are we doing here?" Bowser asked.  
"Just shut up and trust me!" Wario demanded.  
"I thought you were gonna tell us what happened to you in Toad's office that one night..." King Boo added impatiently.  
"I will!" Wario said. "I just need to confirm something first."  
"What do you plan of confirming by coming to the DDG?" Daisy wondered.  
"WILL YOU ALL STOP ASKING QUESTIONS AND JUST LET ME DO WHAT I GOTTA DO?!" Wario screamed.  
Luigi stared blankly at Wario. "...Why?"  
"URGGGHHH!!" Wario groaned. "Just gimme a minute, alright? I'll tell you everything in just a sec. I just gotta find..."

He stopped. He stared across the room at one Repair Guy in particular, as though he had some secret ties with him. He quickly began to walk over, and the rest followed, wondering what was up.  
Wario stopped when he was but a few feet from the Repair Guy, who was wiping down the hood of Toad Kart with his back turned to them. He must've sensed that he was being stared at from behind, for he quickly turned around. When he saw Wario standing there, staring at him through confused eyes, the Repair Guy merely stared back at him in silence. Despite the mask covering his face, it was clear that this Repair Guy recognized Wario from somewhere.

Wario was the first to speak. "Hello..." he said slowly. "Do you... know me?"  
The Repair Guy nodded faintly. "Jyes."  
Wario appeared quite surprised by his utterance. "You... speak English?"  
"I been... estudying," the Repair Guy replied.  
Wario nodded in approval. "What is your name?"  
The Repair Guy was silent for a short while, as though struggling to decipher Wario's question. Eventually, though, he answered, "Jyustin."

Wario nodded again, then grew a bit more serious. "Where did you meet me?"  
"Ehh..." Justin mumbled. "I meeted jyou in... the office of Toad."  
"When?"  
"Three nights... past."  
"Do you remember what happened?"  
Justin was silent again, searching for the words to say. He was really having trouble with this conversation, but he was trying. "Ehh... Jyou goed in the office of Toad, and jyou seed a paper, and a... computadora..."  
"...Computer?" Wario asked.  
"Jyes, computer," Justin continued. "And jyou look much mad. Next, you try kill Toad, and ehh... I stop jyou."  
"How?"  
"We, ehh... we fighted."  
"Who won?"  
"...'Won'?"  
"Umm... who winned?"  
"Winned? Umm... Me. I kick jyour ass."  
"Heh, oh," Wario said with a laugh.  
"Jyes. When I beated you, jyou taked your... eh..." Justin didn't know what word to say, so he made a hand motion like that of stabbing something with a knife.  
"Knife?" Wario helped him out.  
"Knife!" Justin exclaimed. "Jyes, you taked the knife, and jyou put it on the desk."

"Was there something on the knife?"  
"On the knife...? Jyes. A... ehh... little paper."

"This one?" Daisy called over. Justin looked, and he saw her holding up the very same knife and memo that he'd remembered from that fateful night. "Jyes! Jyes! Is it!"  
Justin then remembered something else. "Oh! Also, there was other paper. Jyou ehh... stab knife in the paper."  
"What was it?" Wario wondered.  
"I no know," Justin shrugged. "A paper. It have a mountain, and... much rocks."  
Wario nodded in understanding again.

Justin then asked a question. "Where jyou find... that?" He pointed at the knife and memo in Daisy's hands.  
Being the one who found it, Luigi answered. "Under Mario's bed."  
"Mario's... bed? Oh, OK," Justin replied, as though it made perfect sense to him.  
"Why?" King Boo then asked.  
Justin began the answer to that with another question. "Jyou know that.. Toad, ehh... committed the... suicido?"  
"That he committed suicide?" Bowser responded. "Yeah, we know."  
"The policia... they finded that knife in his... pocket," Justin said. "They gived it to me, and I gived it to Mario..."  
"Ohhh..." Luigi said. "That explains it, then."

"So, you confirm whatever it was you needed to comfirm, tubby?" Bowser asked Wario. Wario, who seemed content with what he'd learned nodded. "Yup, I think so. I'll explain it all on the way back, alright?"  
"Sounds like a plan," said Daisy, who was eager to hear his tale.

Wario then turned back to Justin, who was still staring at him. "Anything else?"  
Justin scratched his chin for a second, then nodded. "Jyes. One more thing..."  
"What is it?" Wario wondered.  
With that, Justin reared back his fist and socked Wario hard in the gut. Wario got the wind knocked out of him and bent down, gasping for air. While his head was down, Justin followed up with a sharp uppercut that knocked his head right back up again. Then, while Wario was dazed, Justin whipped around and delivered a roundhouse kick to the face that sent Wario flying back right into the body of a nearby Heart Coach, causing it to smash into pieces!  
"Puta gorda..." Justin uttered before going back to work on the Toad Kart.

Luigi and Daisy stared wide-eyed at Wario's flailing body in the wreckage, and Bowser and King Boo broke out into laughter. "Holy crap!" King Boo exclaimed. "I don't think even Mario coulda done that!"  
Bowser walked over and gave Justin an enthusiastic high-five. "You, little dude, are my HERO!"  
Justin just laughed and resumed working afterwards. Wario quickly climbed out of the pile of shattered wood and ran his ass outta the DDG. The rest followed, hoping to hear the details of Wario's fateful night in Toad's office two nights ago.

Justin watched then leave. Once they were out the door, he laughed to himself again. "Aye aye aye... Que locos! Hmm... Me pregunta que va a pasar ahora..."

* * *

After taking a minute or so to regroup from his shock of what he'd just read, DK walked around the desk towards Toadette's armchair. He wasn't sure why - to talk to her? About what? What would he say? He had no idea why, but he just felt compelled to at least show some sympathy towards her.

He crawled over behind Toadette's armchair and positioned his large frame there. "Toadette OK?" he asked softly.  
Toadette didn't answer.  
"Toadette OK?" DK repeated.  
More silence from Toadette. She didn't even turn her chair around.  
"Toadette...?" DK asked once more. He reached out his big hand and gripped the top of the chair, then slowly turned it around himself. As he did, Toadette came into view.  
Her cheeks were wet with lines of tears.  
When Toadette found herself facing her four fellow racers in the office, she quickly turned her face away and tried to hide it with her hands. However, this only made her begin to cry even more. Without a word, she just continued to bawl, her hands concealing her turned away face. DK felt so guilty for having put her in this position that he quickly reached for the chair again to rotate it back around.However, Toadette reached out and touched DK's large hand with her own.  
"No..." she sniffled, "It's OK. You don't have to..."  
DK merely nodded and lowered his hand.  
"What was it you were asking me?" Toadette asked, pretending that she was fine.  
"I just ask if Toadette is OK?" DK replied.

Toadette put her hand down on her knees and stared down into her lap. The way her braids hung down over her face made her look so cute and innocent, it almost made their sympathy for her double.  
"Yeah..." she said without looking up. "I'm OK..."  
Yoshi, Birdo, and Paratroopa had all walked over to try and maybe console her as well. Despite what she said, they knew she was completely torn apart inside. By all accounts, they couldn't blame her. Hell, they couldn't really blame her for the state of denial she was in, either. They were all hesitant to believe these harrowing new truths...

Birdo said some soothing words through her nasal hole. Toadette looked up and smiled slightly, but, quickly looked back down in her lap again with that sorrowful look on her face.  
"Yoshi?" Yoshi asked in his native tongue. Toadette nodded her head slightly in response, causing her braids to swing to and fro.  
"I do..." she said quietly. "I do believe it... But at the same time, I don't. I mean, I believe that he really did do all those things, but... Maybe I just haven't accepted it. Or maybe, I just won't ever understand..."

Paratroopa barked something that sounded like he was trying to make her feel better about something, but in actuality, it only caused her to bury her face in her hands again. "Oooohh.. But it IS my fault! Toad would've never even _started _Double Dash if I hadn't made it so obvious that I wanted to race in the Mario Kart Grand Prix with him..."

She resumed crying again as she continued to speak between deep breaths. "...Ever since I was little, I'd seen him driving those karts and throwing those shells and slipping on those banana peels, and... it all just looked so fun. I tried to hide it, but Toad could see right through me. He knew it was my dream to be a part of Mario Kart. To race with him... Heh, he just has this way of knowing what people's ambitions really are..."  
A quivered sigh.  
"Or, he HAD a way of knowing..."  
She finally finished off by saying, "He wanted that Rainbow World Cup for me. I know it... I just know it..."  
Unable to say anymore, Toadette kept her face shielded with her hands, looking down into her lap, and shaking her head ever so slowly. Her hands evidently weren't enough to sustain the steady streams flowing from her eyes. They leaked between her fingers and dripped onto her lap.

DK, Yoshi, Birdo, and Paratroopa knew that it was time to just leave her be now. They'd found out what they needed to know, and shared their feelings with Toadette. That was all that had to be done. It was time to return to Mr V's office. Without another utterance between them or Toadette, they began to head towards the door...  
However, just as they reached the door, they were quite surprised to see Wario come busting in, followed closely by the rest of Group 2. What were they doing here? What had they found out? Oh, there was bound to be a lot of information trading in the near future...

The first thing everyone noticed as Group 2 walked into the room was the expressions on their faces. Wario, who entered first, looked morbidly depressed; like he'd just revealed a deep, dark secret. Daisy and Luigi followed behind, their faces a mixture of sadness and disbelief. Perhaps whatever Wario had been talking about had upset them?  
King Boo floated in next. He seemed rather indifferent, and if anything, more confused than distressed.  
Bowser came in last, looking quite angry about something. "You're a fucking liar!" he snarled at Wario. "I mean it! That's seriously the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard in my life!"  
"I swear to you, I'm telling you the truth!" Wario argued back, seemingly ignoring the fact that Toadette and all of Group 1 were watching. Wario and Bowser began a heated argument that, thankfully, didn't get too physical. King Boo stupidly decided to intervene and ended up getting caught up in the quarrel as well.

Meanwhile, Yoshi hobbled over to Luigi and Daisy. "Yoshi?" he asked, wondering what the fuss was all about. Luigi and Daisy clutched one another's hands and looked at each other with sad eyes. They then looked at Yoshi, who was eager to hear what they'd found out. Birdo, DK, and Paratroopa all huddled over to hear as well.  
"...We think we know who caused the first two accidents..." Luigi said lowly.  
When Paratroopa heard this, he shut his eyes and promptly turned around.  
"...We think... it was Toad," Daisy quivered, biting her glove as a way to keep herself from crying.

To their surprise, none of Group 1 seemed shocked by this news. As a matter of fact, Birdo slowly nodded her head, then uttered something through her piehole.  
"Yes," DK added, "Toad keep diary in his computer. Tell about accidents. He make them happen."  
Luigi looked at Daisy with a serious face, which she returned. Whatever it was that these two had had such trouble believing a few moments ago, must have been proven true by that statement.  
"So Wario's story..." Daisy almost whispered.  
"It's true," Luigi responded, looking over at Wario.

Releasing Daisy, Luigi walked over to where Wario, Bowser, and King Boo were arguing and promptly broke it up. "Hey, Wario!" he shouted above the voices, "Why'd you lead us here?"  
Wario seemed to snap out of the angry fit he was in. "Huh? Oh, yeah! I was gonna look for something real quick..."  
"What for?" King Boo asked. "We've already been pretty much convinced that your story's true. I mean, Toad being the culprit is... pretty hard to believe, but..."  
"For God's sake!" shouted an exasperated Bowser, "He's BSing! Ain't no way in hell Toad was the killer! Mario, maybe! Or maybe Peach! Or maybe someone totally unexpected like that stupid Repair Guy! Hell, I'd believe it was frickin' Franklin D Koopsevelt before even beginning to SUSPECT it was Toad! There's just no way in hell that-!!"  
"FOUND IT!!"

All the members of Groups 1 and 2 ran over to see what it was Wario had found. They saw him reach one of the desk's many drawers and pull out an ordinary-sized piece of paper. The first noticeable feature of this paper was the hole in the middle. It looked as though someone had taken a knife and stabbed right through it.  
The members of Group 2 all understood right away - in fact, someone HAD stabbed a dagger through this paper. It had been Wario himself! After getting verification from Justin that his memories were indeed true, Wario had told his group the tale of what had happened that night in Toad's office. He explained the paper he'd found, the computer document he'd skimmed through, and his plan to kill Toad for what he'd done. Then the fight between he and Justin... and at last, Wario's last-ditch effort to get the message to Toad that he wasn't going to get away with his evil ways, by attaching the "I KNOW" memo to the dagger's handle and stabbing the dagger into the document on the desk.  
Yes, this paper Wario held now was that document. A document describing Toad's plan to increase the number of foam boulders that would be sent tumbling down DK Mountain. A plan that Wario and King Boo had foiled in order to make room for their fiery boulder assassination attempt...

They studied the paper closely. The upper half of the paper sported a crudely drawn sketch of DK Mountain with several brown, crayon-drawn boulders on the slope. The bottom half contained a written description of the plan. It was nearly illegible, however. It must've been written in quite a hurry. On top of that, the hole that had been created by the knife had punched out many of the words.  
Regardless of what the description might have said, it didn't matter. They all knew. This was Toad's plan to hopefully compensate for the wrongs he'd done by setting up the first two accidents. However, no matter what he could've tried to make better for the future, there was just no way he could've avoided the past. What he'd already done. In the end, the past had caught up with him, and caused his untimely demise... And all to win the Rainbow World Cup. It was all just so unreal...

It now made almost perfect sense to all of them, but there was still a lot of exchanging of info to be done. Additionally, they still didn't know anything about the Daisy Cruiser accident, nor anything about Mr V or his connection to the entire ordeal. These were things Petey was meant to find out, right?  
Yes. They would return to Mr V's office now, and begin the information trade. It was still unknown to all of them why Mr V seemed so intent on them understanding everything, but again, perhaps this was something Mr V had discussed with Petey.  
Ugh... They could only imagine what position poor Petey must've been in at that moment. Having to endure the past half-hour or so with that psycho man-thing person. They had to get back to Mr V's office for Petey's sake, too!

"Let's head back to Mr V's office now and start sharing what we've learned," Luigi announced, summing up what everyone was thinking. They all unanimously agreed and began to herd out of the room into the hallway.  
Everyone, that is, except Toadette, who was still sitting in her armchair facing the window...

As everyone filed out into the hallway, Daisy noticed Toadette sitting quietly in her armchair. Her head was down, and she looked as though she could have been crying not long ago. Daisy could imagine why - how horrible must it have been to find out that her own brother had been behind all the madness that had happened the past week? Especially considering how close the two had been. They'd been like the perfect sibling bond...

"Hey guys?" she called back to the rest. However, most of them were already making their way down the hall and didn't hear her. Not too surprisingly, Luigi had stayed behind with her. She was a bit surprised, though, to see DK come walking back in as in response.  
"What happen?" DK asked.  
"Umm... About Toadette..." Daisy said quietly, trying to make sure Toadette didn't hear. "Is she OK?"  
"No..." DK moaned sadly. "She sad that Toad was the bad killer person."  
"I could've guessed. Poor thing..." Daisy said. "But still, you think maybe we should bring her along?"  
"I dunno," Luigi budded in. "Don't you think it might be a bit much for her Ya know, considering what we're gonna be talking about?"  
DK shrugged. He wasn't sure, though he appeared to agree with Luigi.

Daisy, however, was thinking on a different wavelength. Without asking for anymore opinions, she walked over to Toadette and stood in front of her. It took a short while for Toadette to notice Daisy standing there. When at last she did, she raised her head and looked Daisy in the eye.  
Daisy was immediately heartbroken. That look in Toadette's eyes... she'd surely been crying. A tear was still working its way down her swollen, red cheek. It was like looking into the eyes of a pleading baby who'd just lost her mother.  
Or brother, as the case may be...  
"Yes... Daisy?" Toadette choked.  
"Toadette," Daisy said softly, "This is sort of a hard question for me to ask you, but... Please don't be offended if I..."  
"It's OK, Daisy..." Toadette interrupted as politely as possible, holding up her hand. "I'll go with you to Mr V's office. I'll partake in the information trade."

Daisy was quite surprised by Toadette's apparent change of heart, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Luigi and DK felt the same way. Whatever it was that made Toadette make the decision she did, they were just glad she made it.  
Toadette had to take a second or two to wipe her cheeks dry. After that, she promptly hopped her tiny body off the chair, ready to walk with her three friends to Mr V's office. And that's exactly what they did.

* * *

Mr V's office was already heavy with commotion by the time the four arrived. When they did step in, all conversation slowed down quickly. Bowser, King Boo, Wario, Yoshi, Birdo, and Petey all welcomed Daisy, Luigi, and DK into the room.  
However, all went dead silent when Toadette came in behind them. Toadette seemed to suspect this would happen, because she didn't even flinch. She merely walked in and took a seat on the floor near Yoshi and Birdo. "Well?" she asked. "We gonna start sharing what we know or what?"  
"Toadette?" Bowser asked in a noticeably worried tone, "You're gonna join the info trade?"  
"Why not?" she asked. "I'm stuck in the middle of this whole mess just like everybody else here. No reason why I shouldn't, ya know?"  
Everyone looked at one another, shrugged, and nodded enthusiastically.  
"Alright," Toadette announced with a nod, "Let's talk."

And talk they did. For the next forty-five minutes, that was all that was done and heard. Whirlwinds of thoughts and theories, converted into the form of the spoken word and spread about like sprinkler water, absorbed by the sponges that were others' brains. The Earth itself seemed to stand still as the discussion went on. At points, it was shocking. At other times, frightening. Sometimes maddening. Infuriating. Saddening. And, at times, utterly heartbreaking.  
Yoshi, Birdo, Paratroopa, and DK did their best to recollect and share Toad's disturbing virtual diary. Toadette, who admitted to having read the diary several times over, and Wario, who had skimmed through the diary during the night of his break-in, helped out. The roots of Toad's troubled ambitions really helped get the discussion going.  
Yes, Wario did tell everyone the tale of his intrusion on Toad's office that one night, now that he remembered everything that happened. Daisy, Luigi, Bowser, and King Boo all did their best to point out things he forgot to mention on his first run-through, but obviously, no one would remember better than him. Well, except maybe Justin, but he wasn't there.  
Perhaps the most interesting of all the news, though, came from Petey. His private chat with Mr V had definitely been an enlightening one. His knowledge to share ranged from the Daisy Cruiser accident to Mr V's true identity.  
Toadette herself proved to be a big contributor to the discussion. She shared with them some of the private conversations she'd had with Toad, including the last words he and she had ever spoken to each other. It all just made so much sense now...

Yes... It all made sense now. Every last detail. Every little question any of them could possibly pick out had a clear and definite answer to it, it seemed. And yet, while the information trade had it's share of teary and anger-inducing moments, they all couldn't have ended up more content. Because now, they understood... Understood the whats, wheres, whens, whos, whys, and hows of it all.  
They understood one another as well. Perhaps some serious grudges could've still been held, but if anyone were to point a finger, it may as well have been at themselves. There was something else they had all come to terms with through this discussion - that they were all guilty. Each and every one of them, in one way or another, was at fault for all the terrible things that had happened, even those not directly influenced by Toad in the first place. No innocents at all... It was a startling truth, but a truth no less. A truth they were all sad, yet strangely content, to have discovered.

And yet, even as the string of conversations came close to its inevitable end, there were still a few trifling things that just did not have a definite answer. The biggest of them was, why had Mr V wanted them to know all this? Why had he arranged this whole ordeal in order for them to gather and share all this information? Why did he want them to understand...?  
Also, judging by the fact that the lights in his office were on, and that none of them had heard his deep, soul-chilling voice during the past forty-five minutes, they all secretly wondered where he had gone to. However, no one actually voiced this question, perhaps because for one reason or another, they were just afraid to.

There was also one more question that burned deep within everyone's mind, and not because of lack of information of the past, but of the future - What now? Now that they had all this knowledge, what were they supposed to do? Continue living as they always had, as though it never happened? No, that couldn't be it... But still, what was there left to do? If anyone knew the best course for them to take now, it was Mr V. Again, though, he seemed to have all but vanished. Just one more question they'd have to wait for to be answered...

"Well..." Luigi gurgled mid-yawn, "That was quite a discussion..."  
"Tell me about it," Bowser grumbled. "I still can't believe Toad was the killer this whole time. Dammit, why didn't I eat him when I had the chance?!"  
"I know. It's so sad..." Daisy muttered, walking into Luigi's embrace. "Who'd have thought our sweet little Toad would do that?"  
Paratroopa shrugged and barked lowly. He was clearly still feeling guilty that he'd allowed himself to be bribed by Toad.  
"So, he did it just cuz he wanted a trophy, eh? Jeez, talk about low," King Boo cracked.  
"Hey, don't say that about him!" Toadette yelled defensively. "He wanted it for me! I know it! So go ahead and blame me for everything if you want, but don't say anything about him, OK?!"  
An awkward silence followed for a short while.

"Yoshi..." Yoshi said, reviving the conversation once again.  
"I dunno. He's one freaky guy, that's for sure," Wario replied. "Speaking of which, wonder where he's at?"  
Birdo honked and snorted out of her hole.  
"Wherever he go, I miss him!" DK admitted. He received many confused glares, but behind all those glares, there existed a deep sympathy as well.

Petey nodded and asked a question in plant language. The question made everyone look around in worry.  
"I sure hope they're both OK by tomorrow..." Daisy said hopefully.  
"Yeah!" Bowser shouted, "What's a Rainbow World Cup without Mario and Peach, huh? Something not worth my time, that's what!"  
Toadette then stood up from her seat on the ground. "Well everybody, this has been quite an enlightening night for all of us. I hope we all take this knowledge to heart, and remember it for when it will become useful to us sometime in the future. Mr V, wherever he's gone, obviously wants it that way, so the least we can do for him is just keep it all stowed away. Now then, we've all got a Rainbow World Cup to get ready for tomorrow, and the first step to getting ready is sleep. So, as Vice President of Double Dash, I order you all back to the Resting Quarters! Stat!"  
"Ugh... Yes, Your Majesty!" King Boo uttered sarcastically as he floated out the door. Without any further comments, they were all filing out the door of Mr V's office and into the hallway, ready to head back to the Resting Quarters.

Toadette was the last one out. As she got ready to close the door, she took one last sweep of the office. Hoping to find something, maybe? She wasn't so sure herself...  
Letting out a tired yawn, Toadette eventually turned off the lights and gently closed the door of Mr V's office before starting over to her own to get to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day...

* * *

While all the others had gone off to the Resting Quarters to go to bed, Luigi and Daisy had to make a small detour first. A detour to the infirmary to pick up their son, as well as Baby Mario. And, maybe to say a few hopeful words to Mario and Peach, too.

Luigi opened the infirmary door and held it open for Daisy to walk through.  
"Thank you," she said quietly.  
"No problem," Luigi replied, closing the door behind him as he walked in himself. The two walked towards the child's playroom where the doctor had said Baby Luigi was. The doctor was already gone for the night, it looked like, for all the lights were off and it was quiet as death. It made them worry that Baby Luigi was left unattended. The again, he'd spent all of last night in the infirmary without supervision, so they probably had nothing to worry about, but still...

As they headed towards the playroom, they did happen to see Mario and Peach's beds over yonder. They kept moving, though, and soon approached the playroom door and quickly opened it.

The light was still on in there, so they could easily see what was inside. To be honest, there wasn't a whole lot - a few of those tinker toy sets and a pile of stuffed animals. It was there they found Baby Luigi, curled up in the lap of a big stuffed rabbit, fast asleep. Sighing in relief, Daisy walked over and gently picked him up. She held him against her chest and was careful not to wake him up.  
"Good to see Jr's lookin' OK," Luigi said, "But where's Baby Mario?"  
"Still sleeping with his mom, maybe?" Daisy thought.  
Luigi shrugged. "Better check and see." He turned off the playroom light, closed the door, and led Daisy and the snoozing Baby Luigi over to he cots where Mario and Peach slept.  
Upon approaching Peach's bed, they both peered into the darkness to see if Baby Mario was still sleeping soundly against his mother's bosom. They had nothing to worry about - he was still there., and he hadn't moved an inch.  
"Should we take him back to the Resting Quarters with us?" Luigi asked.  
Daisy looked at Luigi with a raised eyebrow. "Are you kidding? Of course not! What kind of creep takes a baby away from his own mom?"  
"Oh, right. Sorry..." Luigi moaned, rubbing the back of his neck.

Luigi and Daisy proceeded to slowly look back and forth between Mario and Peach. Peach with her suspended leg cast... Mario with that large red-stained bandage wrapped around his torso... It almost looked as though being awake would've been too painful for them to bear.  
"I really hope they're well enough tomorrow..." Daisy said rather hopelessly.  
"Same here," Luigi responded, eyeing his brother's limp body. "The least I can do for Mario right now is just pray for him, considering what I tried to do to him..."

He bent his head down in shame and closed his eyes tightly. Daisy knew what it was that was bothering him, and it made her feel guilty as well. While keeping Baby Luigi to her chest with her right arm, she reached out her left hand and placed it affectionately on Luigi's shoulder.  
"Don't blame yourself for that, Luigi," she assured him. "I shouldn't have done what I did either..."  
Luigi shook his head slightly. "I know..." he replied in a depressed tone, "It's just... Petey said that Mr V manipulated our minds to make the accident happen according to his will, and that his will was to have Waluigi die instead of Mario. I just keep thinking... What if? What Mr V hadn't been here? What if he wasn't the justice-keeping deity that he was? Would Mario really have ended up dying by accident? Would I have really killed him...?"

Daisy shook her head too, but for different reasons. "Oh Luigi. I honestly doubt any of this stuff would've ever happened had it not been for Mr V being Vice in the first place."  
"I don't think so," Luigi replied darkly. "Toad's reason for doing what he did had nothing to do with Mr V. If anything, Mr V was trying to protect us... Yeah, that's what he was doing. He was trying to protect the innocent, and rid us of the corrupt. That's what his job is, right? Isn't that right?"  
Daisy was somewhat reluctant to take Luigi's words to heart. After a minute of thinking about it, though, she came to realize that he did have a good point. Maybe he was right...  
"Maybe," was Daisy's only reply.

Luigi looked at Daisy with a faint smile, but then turned his gaze down to Mario once more. He stared into the closed eyes of his older brother, hoping maybe to see what was draped behind them.  
"_Thank you, Mr V..._" was the last Luigi said to himself before turning away. Daisy didn't quite hear what he'd said, but she probably could've guessed. Not having any more business in there, the two silently walked out of the infirmary together, secretly hoping that Mario and Peach would be all better by the next day...

* * *

By the time Luigi and Daisy made it back to the Resting Quarters, everyone was pretty much asleep already. It was about half past midnight, so naturally, they were all needing sleep. The only one who was still awake was Bowser, who was just crawling into bed when he spotted Luigi and Daisy walk in.  
"Where the heck were you two?" he asked.  
He then spotted Baby Luigi in Daisy's arms. "Oh..." he quickly added before plopping down and closing his eyes.

Daisy lay Baby Luigi in his bed and pulled the covers up over him. He was so deep in dreamland that he didn't even bat an eye. Luigi stood by Daisy, and the two stood there for a second admiring the sight of their sleeping son. For some reason, it had just occurred to them that he'd almost died just yesterday. Had it not been for Mario's brave actions, he very well could have...  
Or was it Mr V to thank for saving their son, for having manipulated Mario's mind? They weren't exactly sure what to think anymore. All that mattered to them was that they were all still alive and well, and that they'd live to see tomorrow...  
...And within the next half-hour, Luigi and Daisy had gotten into their own beds and dozed off, dreaming about the big day that would come tomorrow...

* * *

Toadette sat in the armchair of her office, with a blanket in her lap and a pillow resting behind her head. The lights were off and there wasn't a single sound to be heard. It was the perfect environment to fall asleep in, but Toadette wasn't quite ready for sleep yet. Why not, she couldn't explain.

She merely continued to stare out her window, observing the stars in the sky. She could barely make out the skyline of Mushroom City over the horizon, which looked like a bed of sparkling stars fallen to Earth itself.  
And yet, Toadette wasn't looking among the stars to admire their beauty. She was looking for something. Someone... Someone who had gone. Someone who she was afraid may never come back...  
Why did this possibility scare her? Was it perhaps someone she cared for? Or at the very least deeply respected? People come and go throughout life. It's but one of the many facts of life itself. However, seldom does it truly make one worry that they'll never see someone again...  
Surely... It takes a very special someone to trigger a fear like that...

Despite Toadette's best efforts to find the one she was looking for, she eventually, and inevitably, drifted off to peaceful sleep...


	9. Day 8

**Day 8**

**_The Big Day..._**

**_--_**

Mario lay on his back, starting up at the sky. He had no idea where he was, but it was strangely peaceful. Flowers sprouted up from the ground all around his body, all colored so vividly that the texture of their petals may have resembled precious gems. He could feel the ground he lay on. It was rocky and coarse, like that of a desert. The sky overhead shone a fantastic orange-red, like that seen during a sunset. Or perhaps even a sunrise. Where on Earth was he? That is, if he even WAS on Earth...

One particular flower drooped slightly over Mario's head, almost touching his forehead. Its pedals were colored white, with red polka dots. It was a pattern that was familiar to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on where it was from. Stranger still was why this one flower seemed so important compared to the hundreds of others he was surrounded by...  
What was all this...?

Before Mario had any more time to think about it, his surroundings began to change. The flowers began to turned liquid white and melt into the ground. The orange-glazed sky overhead started to ferment into a silvery pallette and stretch out in all directions. The white flower with the red polka dots, too was changing form, into something bulbous and white. What the hell was going on?! Mario questioned this to himself over and over, but despite his apparent worry, he still did not get up. He simply proceeded to lay there while the world went through its stunning transformation.  
And finally, after what seemed like several days, Mario found himself no longer in this pristine desert plain growing with flora...  
Instead, he was now somewhere more familiar to him - the Double Dash infirmary. In his hospital bed, his head resting on his pillow. Wide awake.  
And standing over him was none other than his beloved wife, Peach, still in her hospital robe. In her arms was their son, Baby Mario.  
"Good morning, Mario!" Peach exclaimed.

Mario rubbed his eyes and stared at her in awe. She looked perfectly OK! Her leg... no cast or anything! Had her leg healed already? Wow!  
"Peach..." he said, "Your leg. It's not...?"  
"Nope! My leg's fine!" she chirped happily. "I woke up this morning, and my cast was gone. At first I was kinda scared that it had fallen off or something, but my leg felt OK. I got out of bed, stood on it, walked on it... and it was perfect!"  
"Oh. Wow..." Mario said with a smile. "Good to see you've recovered alright."

"By the look of it, I'm not the only one..." Peach replied.

Mario caught of a hint of slyness in Peach's voice, and looked down at his own body in wonder. He gasped in surprise by what he saw. Or rather, by what he didn't see...  
He was still without a shirt, but the large white bandage that he last remembered to be wrapped tightly around his torso... It wasn't there!  
Feeling curious, Mario hesitantly poked at his ribcage. He'd broken some ribs during the Daisy Cruiser accident, so he expected it to hurt a lot, but to his surprise, he felt nothing. He poked a little harder, but still nothing.  
And his back? He'd been stabbed in the back by a jagged metal somethin'-or-other. He reached back to feel around for any sign of a puncture wound.  
Nothing there either! Not even any stitches or scars! It was like those wounds had never existed!

"Goddamn..." Mario muttered to himself.  
"Mario!" Peach shouted, "Watch your mouth around Baby Mario!"  
"Oh, sorry..." Mario responded a little distantly. "But... man, to have our wounds healed already. How long have we been out?"  
"I dunno. A long time, I'm guessing," Peach inferred  
"Let's see," Mario thought, "I was put here in the hospital two days before the Rainbow World Cup, and..."  
He then stopped himself. "Oh no... Peach, do you think we missed the Rainbow World Cup?!"  
Peach gasped at the thought. "Uh, I... Oh no. What if we did?!"  
"Let's get going to the President's Office and see what we've missed!" Mario said anxiously, hopping out of his bed and leading the way out of the infirmary. Peach followed closely behind, just as worried about what might have gone on in Double Dash while they were asleep. Was the Rainbow World Cup already finished? Had more people in the league died...? Oh, the anxiety was just too great to bear!

Mario threw open to door to Toadette's office and stepped inside. Toadette was at her desk, as usual, and looked to be making some last-minute adjustments to something on her computer. When she saw Mario walk into the office, followed by Peach holding Baby Mario, the look on her face was one of utter shock and surprise. That quickly subsided though, and morphed into an expression of pure joy.  
"Mario!! Peach!!" she exclaimed, hopping out of her armchair and running up to greet them. "You're OK!!"  
"Sure we're OK, " Mario said matter-of-factly. "I feel like I've been asleep for months!"  
"What's been going on in Double Dash since we were last awake?" Peach asked somewhat forcefully. "Did we miss the Rainbow World Cup? Oh, please tell us we didn't!"  
Toadette's already wide grin grew even wider. "Miss the Rainbow World Cup? Of course not! It's happening today, and it's starting in just a couple hours. You guys recovered just in time! Omigosh, it's a miracle! No question, it's a total miracle!"

Mario and Peach looked at one another, a bit confused. Had Peach's shattered leg really healed in such a short time? The doctor had said she might be OK enough to race by now, but to have her leg _completely_ healed in just five days? Even more odd, how had Mario's potentially crippling injuries healed in only two days? LESS than two days, actually? It was enough to make their heads spin.  
In the end, though, they both eventually accepted Toadette's proposal that it was nothing but a miracle. Someone up there must've really wanted them to race in the Rainbow World Cup!

Mario and Peach's excitement eventually outshone their wonder. The Rainbow World Cup was finally among them, and they were gonna participate in it! w00t!  
Toadette was still completely overjoyed. "I'm ecstatic! Seriously! I'm SO happy you two are feeling better!"  
She stopped for a second. "...You two ARE feeling good enough to race, right?"  
"Hell yeah!" Mario shouted.  
"MARIO!!" Peach yelled irritably, motioning towards Baby Mario. Mario settled down and nodded, but he couldn't help but laugh to himself.

"Well, I'll bet the guys at the Resting Quarters will be just as happy to see you're OK," Toadette reasoned. "Go on! Go down there and say hi! And then get ready to race! I'll be down there in about an hour to give the rundown on how things are gonna go, then from there, it's pretty much gonna be off to the racetrack with us. That alright?"

"Okie dokie!" Mario said.  
"Yes, Ms President," Peach replied graciously.

Toadette then looked at Baby Mario, who cooed playfully at all the growing excitement. "Hey, Baby Mario. You ready to race in the Rainbow World Cup?"  
Baby Mario laughed and kicked in joy. "Hell yeah!"

* * *

"...You better hope our son doesn't grow up saying those words!"  
"Oh, c'mon. He was gonna learn 'em eventually. May as well learn them from his own parents."  
"OK, that makes NO sense at all."  
"Alright, I'm sorry. I'll watch my mouth around him from now on. I promise..."

Mario and Peach had exited the Double Dash HQ and were making their way across the parking lot towards the Resting Quarters. Despite the conversation at hand, their minds were actually on something far deeper. They'd missed a whole night of activity. What might've happened during the time they'd been asleep? It was only one night, sure, but usually, a single night was all it took for something life-changing to happen. Could such an event happened last night? It was worth it to ask...

Upon reaching the Resting Quarters' door, Mario quickly opened it up without a second thought. Everybody appeared to be totally pumped for the Rainbow World Cup. They were getting dressed into their best clothes, talking excitedly amongst themselves, cracking jokes... there seemed to be a very jovial atmosphere, something this sorry room hadn't seen in a long while. It was good to see everyone acting positively about something for a change.  
The first to notice Mario, Peach, and Baby Mario at the door was none other than Baby Luigi himself. Luigi was changing his diaper when he spotted them at the door.  
"MAWIO!!" he called out excitedly.  
Luigi jumped back, afraid that Baby Luigi's outburst would cause him to piss all over the place or something. He then happened to see Mario and Peach standing there in the doorway as well. He rubbed his eyes and blinked several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "Mario...? Peach...?! You're both OK!"  
By now everyone had noticed the couple standing at the door, and their reactions were comparable to Luigi's. They all began to gather around to welcome their hero and his wife.  
"Mario, you healed already?"  
"You feelin' OK to race?  
"What the hell kinda drugs they give you?!"

Mario just laughed and held out his hands. "Yup, it's true. We're both feeling perfectly OK, and we will be racing in the Rainbow World Cup. You can bet on that!"  
Everyone celebrated a little. Even Bowser and Wario, though mostly to themselves.  
"So," Peach wondered, "Anything happen since yesterday?"

Peach's question suddenly began to make memories of the previous night crawl back into all their heads. As they did, all the happy feeling in the room almost immediately died away. Smiles turned to frowns. Laughter turned to silence. All of Mario and Peach's friends suddenly looked crestfallen and morose. Judging by this reaction to the question, they could tell a lot most certainly had happened last night while they were asleep...

You will be spared the discussion that took place from then on, but needless to say, it involved all of Mario and Peach's teammates explaining every little answer to every little question regarding the Double Dash conspiracy that had happened in the last week. It was wave of knowledge that almost threw Mario and Peach right off their feet. It was all so unbelievable that they had trouble registering it all. Eventually, though, all the pieces began to fit together like clockwork, until finally it jerked, rattled, and began to spin ever so slowly. Understanding soon settled upon them, and it was a satisfying feeling. It was far from being a happy feeling, but... it was satisfying to just be able to know...  
The only thing they weren't informed of was Mario's affair with Daisy. All in all, that was something they didn't need to know, for it was possible for them to comprehend the Daisy Cruiser accident without knowing that bit. Revealing that to Peach would've just caused more drama, and that was something they really didn't need.

"So... It really was Toad?" Mario asked sorrowfully.  
"Yeah. So fucked up, I know," Bowser remarked.  
"...I had my suspicions, I admit," said Mario, "But I never thought they could be right..."  
"And Mr V?" Peach inquired, "Where is he now?"  
"Who knows?" asked Wario. "Probably over in North Korea trying to get Kim Long Il to light himself on fire or something..."  
"So, turns out he was kind of a good guy after all, huh?" Mario thought.  
"More or less, I guess..." Daisy replied. "Judging from what he said, though, he's not gone yet. He said he wanted us to win the Rainbow World Cup.""Well damn, we better win it!" King Boo blurted. "All this trouble was caused in the first place cuz Toad wanted that stupid thing!"

For one reason or another, all talk of the conspiracy ended right then and there. Perhaps they just didn't want to concern themselves with it anymore. Or rather, just not right then. Right then, the Rainbow World Cup was their main focus. They now had just a little over an hour to get ready for it. Damn, the suspense!!  
"So, we're goin' up against Captain Falcon and the rest of the F-Zero team, eh?" Mario asked Yoshi.  
"YOSHI!!" Yoshi yelped happily. He was so energized he almost toppled over on his crutches. He quickly caught himself, though. Birdo, who was nearby, seemingly replied with a series of weird-sounding hole noises.  
"Oh yeah, that's right..." Mario moaned. "The doctor says you're not allowed to race in it, huh?"  
Having just been reminded of that heartbreaking fact, Yoshi squealed softly and lowered his head. Looks like if he were to save his energy for anything, it would be for cheering on his friends from the sidelines. Oh well... at least he'd be able to do that!

Meanwhile, DK and Paratroopa were arguing stupidly over something on the other side of the room.  
"No, you not gonna win better than me! I gonna win the Rainbow Cuppy Cup for Diddy!"  
Paratroopa had evidently warmed up to the fact that Koopa's death had given him a bit of a morale boost for the upcoming race, and that if he was going to try and win it for anything, it would be for Koopa. After all, Koopa's death could be traced back to Toad's desire for the Rainbow World Cup, so it would be foolish for Paratroopa to not want to win it! Be barked boldly back in DK's face.  
DK made a playful angry face. "Oh yeah? Me punch Paraturtle in the nose! You no race so good with scrunchy nose! I laugh at you, and Diddy laugh at you, too!"  
Paratroopa just shook his head and barked right back. The argument continued from there with no real conclusion in sight. The only way to see who would actually come out on top was to actually race the race and find out!

Suddenly, the door to the Resting Quarters opened. All talk in the room quickly simmered down to silence as Toadette walked in with a handful of papers.  
"OK everyone, I know you're all excited about the Rainbow World Cup, but first, we have to work out a few things. First of all, I'll need to know how we're all gonna pair up right now so I can enter it on the roster and submit it. Once the roster's been submitted, it can't be changed, so think about it carefully. Also, items will be allowed in the race, but seeing as Waluigi... can't do it anymore, we'll need someone to take his position as Item Commissioner indefinitely from here on out, starting with restocking the items for this race. So, how should we sort this out? Take your time thinking about it, but try to be quick. We've only got about an hour to get to the starting line!"

Toadette took a pen out of her suit pocket and got ready to write. "The Rainbow World Cup Committee has said that it would appeal to the public more if we all paired up with someone we usually don't pair up with. May as well go for it. As we all know already, the team that appeals more to the public always wins..."  
Indeed, that was something they all verily knew was true. Therefore, they wasted no time and began to pair up like they'd never quite paired up before.  
Within minutes, the teams had been decided...

Mario stood across from his teammate, Petey, and nodded in approval.  
"Yeah, we've got some relations," Mario thought, "Remember Mario Sunshine? Man, that game was GOLD!"

Petey laughed and garbled something in plant talk in response.

Luigi and King Boo had ended up pairing up.  
"Hmm... Well, this is kind of awkward..." Luigi said.  
"Tell me about it," King Boo replied. "Now if only I could get a vacuum custom-made for sucking up humans..."

Bowser had chosen Peach to be his partner. "Hey Peach, you're a Princess! You're only fit to race with a King like me! ZING!"  
"Oh please," she muttered, "You're head's so high in the clouds you're getting altitude sickness."

Baby Mario and Baby Luigi naturally grouped up. "We're gonna win the Wainbow World Cup!" Baby Luigi exclaimed.  
Baby Mario nodded enthusiastically. "Damn wight, mutha fucka!"

Considering Birdo couldn't race with Yoshi, she really had no idea who else she could partner up with. Eventually, though, she and DK came together. The two had some sentimental connection when it came to the first accident.  
"Birdo got good partner!" DK assured her. "I race real good so I win Rainybow Cupland Thingy for Diddy!"  
Birdo looked back at Yoshi, who gave her a thumbs up, before responding to DK with a bunch of freaky nose noises.

Wario and Paratroopa had formed a duo under unknown circumstances, but they too, seemed to have some sort of hidden bond between them.  
"So, we're both killers, huh? And we've both lost someone on account of it. How's it feel?"  
Paratroopa looked down, shrugged, and barked a reassuring response. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of such things.

Daisy and Toadette were the only ones left now, so they pretty much had no choice but to make a tandem. This fit them both just fine, though.  
"So, Daisy. Ready to rock?" Toadette asked.  
"When am I not?" Daisy asked back with a grin.

And so, the teams were decided, but Toadette still had one more important announcement to make. "Everyone!" she called out, returning her gaze to her papers, "I originally thought that maybe, it would be more beneficial to have one of us racers fill in Waluigi's place as Items Commissioner. However, since we really must be leaving for the racetrack now, we'll have to leave that job to someone else. I'd received some mail yesterday afternoon from a few applicants willing to fill in the position. Well, they were mainly from a very annoying police officer named Tiko or some dumb name like that, but... after reviewing these requests, I think I've found a suitable replacement. We'll find him at the DDG when we go pick out karts... Which is actually where we're going now! So, is everyone sure they're ready to go?"  
"YEAH!!" they all screamed.  
"Aright then. Let's head out!"

And so, Toadette led the way out of the Resting Quarters and out into the hallway, and finally out onto the parking lot outside, heading for the DDG. It was there they would not only meet their new Items Commissioner, but also choose their beloved karts that would drive them down the path to glory...

DK opened the Double Dash Garage's door and allowed everyone in. This was it. This was the moment they chose their kart that they would use in the Rainbow World Cup! They had to make it count!

While all the other racers were selecting their karts, Toadette found Justin nearby, reapplying the paint on a Turbo Birdo. When he saw Toadette standing there, he bowed his head slightly in respect. "SeZora Presidente," he said.  
Toadette giggled a little. "No, I'm actually not the President. I'm the Vice President!"  
Justin had to think about that for a second, then finally said, "Oh, Vice President! I sorry."  
"It's OK," Toadette assured him, taking out her papers once again. "So... you mailed me a request to be the new Items Commissioner, right?"  
"...Item Commissioner?" Justin asked, as though those were the only words he understood. "Jyes. I, ehh... want to be the Item Commissioner."  
"Great! You're hired!" Toadette exclaimed, writing something down.  
Justin figured she'd just said he'd gotten the job, and smiled to himself from behind his mask. "Oh, gracias Dios! Ya no tengo que trabajar en este garaje estupido con mis compaZeros estupidos! Ahora soy Item Commissioner!"  
"Sure, uh-huh..." Toadette cluelessly responded. "Now Justin, I'll need you to start right away, OK? I need you to replenish the Item Supply for the Rainbow World Cup!"  
"The Rainbow World Cup?" Justin questioned. "Jyou want the items for... that?"  
"Yes! Now, please!"  
"Jyes! Now!" Justin said excitedly, giving a saluting type of gesture. "What you, ehh... require?"  
Toadette knew she wouldn't have a chance explaining it to him through the spoken word, so she instead pulled a paper out from her stack and handed it to him. Justin examined it closely. On the paper was a drawing of each item, with a number displayed next to each picture that indicated how many of that particular item they needed. Justin nodded in understanding as he read it over to himself. "Doscientos plátanos... Un cien cáscaras rojas..."  
He then looked up at her and stood like he was ready to go to work. Toadette smiled. "You understand?"  
"Jyes!"  
"Good! Now work!"

"I work!" Justin chirped happily as he ran off to gather the items from the warehouse. His enthusiasm was inspiring, especially considering all the crap he'd gotten dragged into the past few days. He seemed to be in a similar mood to everyone else - Still upset by all that was happening, but at least a little but reassured that they had something big like the Rainbow World Cup to focus their thoughts on. Hell, how could they not? It was the biggest racing event in the kingdom, and it was starting in less than an hour!

As Toadette watched the ever energetic Justin run off, she heard the sound of Daisy's high heels approaching her from behind. "Hey Toadette?" she heard Daisy ask, "Which kart do you wanna use? I'm a middleweight, so no Toadette Kart for you!"  
Toadette laughed and turned around to face her. "Oh, I know. Now, lesse... Are there any Turbo Yoshis left?"

"No. The last one got totaled back at Mushroom Bridge, remember?"  
"Oh, that's right..." Toadette glumly recalled. "Well then... Let's just take a Red Fire. All around good stats, ya know?"  
"Sounds good! Let's go, quick!"

And so, Daisy and Toadette ran for the nearby Red fire. Daisy volunteered to hop into the driver's seat, while Toadette hopped in back. She looked around to examine the other teams so she could finally finish filling out the roster. Next to the team names, she filled in the vehicle they were riding in. When she was finished, the roster looked like so:

_Mario & Petey - Pirahna Pipes  
Luigi & King Boo - Boo Pipes  
Peach & Bowser - Koopa King  
Daisy & Toadette - Red Fire  
Birdo & DK - DK Jumbo  
Baby Mario & Baby Luigi - Goo Goo Buggy  
Paratroopa & Wario - Wario Car_

Toadette was satisfied with the rather simple list. Now, she needed to get the roster up to the starting point on SNES Rainbow Road as quick as possible.  
"Hey Paratroopa!" she called out. Paratroopa turned towards her and pointed to himself, as though asking "Me?"  
"Yeah! Could you please take the roster and fly up to the starting line? Once you get there, just hand it to one of the guys in the business suits. They'll understand!"  
Paratroopa nodded, waved Wario off, and flew up to Toadette. She handed him the roster and said, "We'll meet you up there, OK? See ya in a bit!"  
Paratroopa barked eagerly, and immediately flew out the door and up into the sky at full speed.

Not long after, a strong wind began to pick up. It blew in through the DDG's open doors, bringing in clouds of dust. The loud sound of a roaring motor filled the air.  
"What is that?!" Luigi called out of the incessant noise.  
Toadette smiled widely. "The Cheep-Cheep Blimp!!" she yelled out. "It's here!! Our ride's here!! Everyone, drive outside and load up!! We're heading out and up!!"  
Everyone cheered as they drove out of the DDG's main door towards the slowly landing Cheep-Cheep Blimp. A large compartment door opened in the back of it, and one by one, the teams drove up, parked inside, and waited for the take-off.

Toadette had to make sure of one more thing before they left, though. "JUSTIN!!" she screamed back in the direction of the DDG, "Do you have the items ready?!"  
A few seconds later, Justin emerged from the DDG's door, wheeling a massive cart behind him that must've been 30 times his size. "I bring items!!" he yelled. "I BRING ITEMS!!"

...And within the next half-hour, all the racers and items were stored within the Cheep-Cheep Blimp. Then, when Toadette gave the signal to the pilot, he started the motor up once more. Slowly and majestically, the Cheep-Cheep Blimp began its ascent towards the heavens, ready to take them all to the biggest racing event of their lives...!

* * *

"Welcome, one and all! It's your favorite radio station host of 96.7 Power Star FM, Goliath Statue! You ain't gonna believe this, folks; I am here at the single biggest racing event in the Mushroom Kingdom - the awesome, exhilarating, incredibly incredible Rainbow World Cup! Oh man, it hasn't even started yet, and I'm alREADY pumped up! So, lemme give you the rundown here. The two teams to be competing for the coveted Cup this year will be the F-Zero team, competing for the third time in a row, and the Mario Kart: Double Dash team! Now, this isn't the first time Mario and his buddies have raced in this particular tournament, but the Double Dash Division is still something puh-retty new for them! Plus, they've yet to actually WIN the Cup! Let's hope they do it this year! That F-Zero team doesn't need to win three times in a row, mirite? MIRITE? Yeah, I KNOW M'RITE!! Well, looks like the F-Zero team's already lined up and rarin' to go, and I think Paratroopa of the Double Dash team arrived a little while ago to turn in the official sign-up sheet. So that must mean... Yes! I see the Cheep-Cheep Blimp comin' over the cloud tops! GodDAMMIT I can't stand it! I'll keep ya'll posted until the race actually begins, which should just be in a matter of minutes! I know you're all excited! I know I sure am! For now, here's a commercial break. When we get back, the races will have begun, so stay tuned folks!"

The Cheep-Cheep Blimp docked carefully next to the starting line of SNES Rainbow Road. The blimp's back compartment opened up, and out drove the seven teams. They were immediately greeted by tons of Lakitus and Paratroopas and the like snapping photos and taping them for public broadcast. They could almost hear the sounds of the fans way down on Earth cheering from their homes. It was quite a spectacle!  
The seven teams advanced forth towards the starting line, where ten F-Zero machines were already waiting in formation. Guess they thought here would be ten Mario Kart teams competing as well. Well, there _should_ have been. Looks like they were just gonna have to go seven-on-ten...

Mario and Petey pulled up ahead of the pack, and found themselves right across from the machine that they recognized as the Blue Falcon; Captain Falcon's machine! Mario figured it was only politically correct to have a word before the race began.  
"Excuse me?!" Mario called over the roar of the paparazzi and camera crews. "Yo, Captain Falcon! You in there?!"  
Captain Falcon was a little slow in replying, but they eventually heard him respond from the cockpit. "Hey Mario!"  
Mario couldn't see through the tainted glass of the vehicle, but it sounded like Capt Falcon's voice nonetheless. "How ya doin'?!"  
"Pretty good! You?!"  
"I'm doin' great! You ready to race or what?!"

"Better believe it!"  
"Oh, you better believe that we're gonna kick your asses!!"  
A bit of a delay from Capt. Falcon. "...We'll see!"

Suddenly, the sound of a loudspeaker switching on filled the air:  
"Hello and welcome back to 96.7 Power Star FM! Goliath Statue here, ready to read off the Rules of the Road here! This race will span across all five variations of Rainbow Road from the console-based Mario Kart games. They include the Rainbow Roads from the SNES, N64, GBA, DS, and finally, the GC! They will perform one lap of each track, in which case they shall drive into the provided teleporter (provided by the folks at Mario Party) and be instantly whisked away to the next track! Now normally, it's required that every racer of one team must cross the finish line for that team to win. However, since the Double Dash team is curiously outnumbered, the rules have been changed - only ONE member of either team must cross the finish line. That's right! The second a single racer or tandem crosses that finish line at GC Rainbow Road, the race is over! This should make for a crazy one, folks! Oh, look! Here comes the man we've been waiting for... Lakitu! Back from his vacation at Isle Delfino to signal the start of the race! Man, this moment gets me every year! w00t! LET IT BEGIN!!"

Lakitu floated above the starting line of SNES Rainbow Road and gave the racers a quick scan. He looked at the Double Dash team in wonder, as though questioning why they were so few in number. He was getting odd stares back at him from the Double Dash team as well. Stares that struck him as almost angry. Blaming him for something he'd done. Not liking the looks he was getting, he quickly decided to move on with his job. His first task - showing the Rainbow World Cup itself.  
Lakitu reached into his cloud, and pulled out the Cup... And my, what a beauty it was! It wasn't exactly big, seeing as Lakitu could hold it over his head, but it shone with such a marvelous silvery glow. On the front of it was etched the words "2006 Rainbow World Cup Champions!" The light that reflected off of the silvery finish appeared to diffract into all seven colors of the rainbow, making the whole thing look like a shiny, rainbow-studded beaut of a trophy!  
"Damn! No wonder Toad was willing to kill for that thing!" Bowser thought to himself.

"Looks pretty nice, huh?!" Mario called over to Captain Falcon.  
"Sure does!" came the reply. "I bet you'd like to get your hands on it, huh?"  
"You know it!"  
"Well, all I can say is... Fat chance!"  
"More like slim chance!"  
"Yeah! Wha... Wait, those mean the same thing?!"  
"Hmm... Yeah, they do, huh?!"  
"Yeah! What the hell's up with that?!"  
"Seriously! That's stupid!"  
"Worry about it later, man! Here comes the signal light!"

And so, while continuing to show off the Cup, Lakitu lowered the signal light above the starting line. All the Karts and F-Zero machines down the row fired up their engines.  
"HEY!!" Mario yelled to Capt Falcon over the sound of the revving motors, "OPEN YOUR HATCH SO I CAN SEE YOUR FACE REAL QUICK!!"

_3..._

"NOT YET!!" Mario heard Captain Falcon yell back._  
__  
__2__..._

"AFTER THE RACE THEN?!" Mario screamed over as Petey got ready to zoom off into oblivion.

_1__..._..

"SOONER THAN YOU THINK...!!" at last came the mysterious reply.

_**START!!**_

Mario immediately floored the gas pedal, and he and Petey went zooming forward! Looking over, Mario saw the Blue Falcon easily fly ahead. That machine was clearly a lot faster than his own kart, so Mario knew he needed to use all the experience he had to pull ahead! He had to remember that only the first racer to cross the finish line would determine the winner, so even a single skilled F-Zero driver was a threat!  
"And they're off! Man, look at 'em go! I have a feeling we're in for a helluva race tonight, folks! Now I should let it be known that the engines of the F-Zero machines have been tuned down a bit to give Mario and company a fighting chance. Of course, they're still quite a bit faster, so why'd they even bother?! Haha! Well, the F-Zero drivers can't use items either, cuz they were never able to in the first place! I tell ya, them F-Zero racers have gotta rely on their speed to keep ahead, but by the looks of it, that just might be enough! Can the Mario Kart guys use their prior experience and item usage to their advantage? Honestly, I have no idea! MAN, I'M SO FIRED UP I'M ABOUT TA PISS MEH PANTS!! Ahem... Goliath Statue of 96.7 Power Star FM, leaving you alone now to WATCH THE FLIPPIN' RACE!!"

The SNES Rainbow Road course went smoothly enough for the Double Dash team. The tricky right angles of the course and lack of guardrails proved tough for many of the F-Zero drivers to get accustomed to. Most of them found themselves flying off the sides on more than one occasion, only to have Lakitu fish them up and place them on the track again like he was supposed to. Furthemore, most of the Double Dash team members had tons of experience on this course, so they were able to get by, no sweat!  
That is, except for Daisy and Toadette, cuz neither of them had ever driven on this particular course before.

Daisy: Aggghhh!! Toadette! You drive!! YOU DRIVE!!  
Toadette: No! I, uh, m-my feet can't reach the pedals!!"  
Daisy: Ugh, not THAT excuse again!! Oh my God, I can't do this!! YOU DRIVE!!"

The center of attention of this race was most definitely the heated race for first place between Capt Falcon and the tandem of Mario and Petey. The two had reached the area of the Glowing Thwomps long before any of the others. Mario kept at steering, watching the road and all its hazards out of the corner of his eye, while not taking his eyes off the Blue Falcon that grew ever further ahead.  
The Blue Falcon drove right underneath a Glowing Thwomp just as it came crashing down. Mario swerved out of the way as it landed right in his path, thereby driving right under another that came slamming down right behind them. Petey ducked down, afraid his big head just might be too big for its own good!

Mario finally managed to run over and Item Tile. "Yes!" Mario exclaimed. "Petey, whatever item you get, use it right away!!"  
Petey garbled back in response. He watched the Item Roulette spin and spin. Green Shell, Fake Item Box, Red Shell... Banana Peel!

Meanwhile, back at the Cheep-Cheep Blimp, Justin and Yoshi were standing by the Item Supply, busily grabbing and shoving the correct items through the Instantaneous Item Transporter whenever any of the Double Dash karts ran over an Item Tile.  
Back when Waluigi was the Items Commissioner, he was able to have this all done via remote control so he could easily race and distribute items at the same time. However, Justin and Yoshi had no time to take such training, so they had to do it manually oo;

Justin was doing most of the work, since Yoshi was having trouble keeping up with the demand, what with his twisted ankle. He did what he could, however. In truth, he was desperate to watch the race, but he had no method of following it all the way along, so the best he could do was help out with the items.  
"Yoshi!" Yoshi called out to Justin.  
"Un plátano? Sí!" Justin shouted back, grabbing a banana from the Item Supply and shoving it into the Transporter. "Para Mario y Petey!"  
"Yoshi!"  
Justin realized they had a short break at the moment. "No estás mirando la carretera, Yoshi?"  
Yoshi shook his head. "Yoshi..."  
"Por qué no?" Justin wondered why Yoshi wasn't watching the race.  
"Yoshi..."  
"Hmm... Pues, puedes robar una nube de unos de los Lakitus. Lo he hecho muchas veces en el pasado!"  
Yoshi perked up at Justin' suggestion of stealing a Lakitu's cloud to watch the race with. "Yoshi?"  
"Claro! Puedes volar y seguir la carratera y- Ah, una cáscara roja! Fantástico!"

Justin was interrupted when he had to send a Red Shell through the Transporter real quick. Meanwhile, Yoshi was already heading out the Cheep-Cheep Blimp's back door to put Justin's idea into action. Before he went out, though, he stopped and turned towards Justin. "Yoshi?"  
Justin showed him off. "Sí! sí! Está bien! Puedo hacerlo solo! Véte!"  
"Yoshi!" Yoshi graciously. With that, he readied his crutches and hobbled down the ramp leading to the racetrack. Justin said he'd be fine handling the items of his own.

Yoshi looked around at all of the available clouds around for the taking. There were so many! Which one would he take? Well, obviously not one that was occupied...Well, maybe. Whatever, he had to get into one of those clouds by any means necessary! His gaze drifted off for a second when he caught sight of the race happening on the other end of the racetrack. Looked like some blue F-Zero machine was leading the pack, followed by Mario and Petey! And Luigi and King Boo weren't too far behind them! Sweet!

But oh, the cloud! Yoshi examined the crowd around the starting line for any cloud that may have been vacant, possibly on account of a Lakitu having to go to the bathroom or something. Lakitu's didn't go to the bathroom in their clouds, did they? What if they did? What did the clouds rain, then? Aug, no! His mind was wandering again! He needed to focus!  
Then suddenly, he spotted one! A cloud with no driver, easily accessible from the side of the racetrack! Where the driver had gone was of no concern to Yoshi. He quickly crutched over to the cloud, threw himself in it, dropped his crutches on the track, and ordered the cloud the fly! The cloud, who seemingly didn't care who his master was, obeyed, and began to fly over to part of the racetrack where Mario and the blue F-Zero racer were duking it out. As Yoshi flew closer to them and further from the starting line, he could've sworn he heard an angry voice call out, "Dude? Where's my cloud?!"

Petey threw his banana forward the second he obtained it, hoping to maybe make Captain Falcon's vehicle spin out. His aim was true, and the banana peel landed directly in front of the vehicle. However, the speedy blue racing machine hovered right over it, thus leaving the banana for Mario to slip over himself. They spun out embarrassingly, and if that weren't enough, just as they were coming out of their spin, they ran into a Glowing Thwomp, thus sending them into another spin. And then they fell off the edge. Damn.

When Lakitu placed them back on the track, they found they were now behind not only Captain Falcon, but also Luigi and King Boo and two other F-Zero machines (one pink and the other yellow), with Bowser and Peach coming up fast behind them.  
"Damn! We got some ground to make up, buddy!"  
Petey snorted in his plant language, nodding his head. Just as the two landed on the course, Mario stepped on the gas, giving them a boost start. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "It took me forever to learn how to time that right!"

Suddenly, cheers from thrilled fans rang through the starry sky. Mario and Petey looked over and could see that Captain Falcon had just driven through the teleporter to N64 Rainbow Road. As they expected, he was the first one. Mario and Petey themselves still had to go around one more curve. This was unsettling news, but they still had a lot of time and road to use to catch up! Further good news was that Yoshi had found a ride from which to view the race from start to finish. He flew beside Mario for a few seconds and waved, indicating he would provide all the support he could. Mario waved back, but only for a second before gripping the wheel and turning around the sharp 90 degree curve. From there, it was just one short straightaway to the teleporter.

As Mario pressed down as hard as he could on the gas, he looked ahead and saw Yoshi fly right into the teleporter on his cloud. Mario followed, driving headlong into it, and feeling himself and his kart go weightless in time and space for a brief second, surrounded by nothing but greenish light.

"Well folks, the first batch of racers are staring to make their way through the teleporter to N64 Rainbow Road, the longest and most boring track EVAR! Wonder who's gonna be the first to complete the lap of THIS course (assuming none of them fall asleep, of course!). Haha! OK, I'm getting a lot of angry looks, so I'll be quiet now. Goliath Statue of 96.7 Power Star FM will be back after this commercial break!"

A split-second later, Mario and Petey felt themselves emerge from the transporter at the starting line of Rainbow Road. A split-second after that, they were hurtled off the top of the huge drop right in the beginning. This had always been Mario's favorite part of the track, and he normally would have enjoyed the moment, seeing as this was his first time driving on N64 Rainbow Road in at least 3 years. However, he used the high vantage point to see how far ahead the leading racers were. The pink and yellow F-Zero machines were ascending the rising slope. King Boo and Luigi were just staring to round the bend with the Mario, Luigi, and Peach neon figures. The Blue Falcon was already making its way around that bend. They had some serious catching up to do...

Baby Mario and Baby Luigi had fallen off the SNES Rainbow Road track for the bazillionth time. After being dropped back on the track by Lakitu once again, they were in last place, and the last team to travel through the teleporter to N64 Rainbow Road. And they still had one more curve to go around to reach the teleporter.  
Baby Mario, who was the backseat man, scorned at Baby Luigi. "Wuigi! We're losing! You gotta dwive more better!"  
Baby Luigi fumbled with the steering wheel. "I'm dwiving as good as I can!"  
"Then lemme dwive! I'm older!"  
"NO!"  
"Well I'm gonna jump down there and dwive if you don't dwive more better!"  
"I will!"  
"Fine. Try and dwive us over that item thingy on the floor! Hurry!"

Baby Luigi swerved over clumsily and ran over an Item Tile, nearly running them off the side of the course (again) in the process. Baby Mario stared at the Item Roulette eagerly as Baby Luigi carefully maneuvered them around the final 90 degree turn that eventually led them straight to the teleporter. Baby Luigi howled in victory, as it was the first curve he hadn't accidentally overshot and flew off. "Yay! I'm dwiving more better now!"  
"Woo-hoo! Guess what?!"  
"What?"  
"We gotted a Chain Chomp!"  
"Weally? Cool! Use it use it USE IT!!"  
"Alwight! Hang on!"

Mario unleashed the Chain Chomp, which right away began to pull the Goo Goo Buggy behind it with reckless abandon. The babies hooted and hollered as they were taken along for the ride. They always loved using the Chain Chomp!  
The Chain Chomp leapt headfirst into the teleporter, dragging the babies right in along with it. After traveling the brief distance through the fifth dimension, they were spewed out at the top of N64 Rainbow Road!

Almost immediately, Baby Mario shouted an order to the Chain Chomp. "GO LEFT!!" He pulled the Chain Chomp's chain over to direct the Chain Chomp over to the left.  
Baby Luigi was badly confused by this, mainly because the track went straight ahead, and turning left would only run them into a guardrail, or otherwise right off the edge. "Mario! What are you-?!"

It was too late for arguing, however. The Chain Chomp obeyed Baby Mario's orders and turned sharply to the left just as they flew off the tip of the big drop. They flew off the track, over the guardrail, and were sent soaring above and beyond the starry, black oblivion. Baby Mario was laughing wildly, but Baby Luigi was so frantic he was nearly crying. "MAWIO!! Are you CWAZY?!"  
"It's a shortcut!" Baby Mario shouted back. "My daddy told me about it! We just gotta land on the twack way down there!"  
"How are we gonna land on that?!"  
"Don't worry! I got it all under contwol!" Baby Mario used the Chain Chomp's chain like a rudder to steer it through the air, hoping to make it so the Chain Chomp would land them right on the track far ahead and below, the section of track just before the upward helix with the smiling star in the center. Baby Luigi's steering wheel was utterly useless in this situation, so all he could do was close his eyes and hope Baby Mario knew what the hell he was doing!

"Almost there!" Baby Mario shouted. "Just gotta aim down a wittle bit... Aim down, Chompy! Aim DOWN! AIM- Uh-oh!"  
Baby Luigi didn't like the sound of that. He reluctantly opened his eyes to see what was happening. There lay the section of track they'd been aiming to land on, probably about twenty feet ahead and twenty feet below.  
And there went the Chain Chomp, sailing right over it and into the depths of space. He'd abandoned the babies right then and there, and Baby Mario hadn't aimed down sufficiently before it happened. The Goo Goo Buggy zoomed forward and downward in almost the exact same direction.

Baby Luigi screamed. He grabbed the steering wheel in vain and closed his eyes, knowing full well that this experiment had failed, and would only leave them even more hopelessly far behind...

_SLLLAAAAAMMM!! _

Baby Luigi was surprised to the kart suddenly crash headlong into something. He felt his body get flung forward out of his seat, then the resistance of the safety strap around his wrist pull and snap him right back into his driver's seat. Wondering what on Earth had just happened, he opened his eyes...  
And saw the star-studded guardrail of the rack directly in front of them.They'd done it! They hadn't overshot the track at all! They'd just barely made it! It was a miracle! Woo-hoo!  
"Yay!" Baby Mario exclaimed. "See? I told ya it would work!"  
"Shut up! You were fweakin' out! Admit it!"  
"Hell no!"

Baby Mario's attention was then diverted away. He was looking down the track, and his eyes were wide with anxiety. "Uh-oh! Bwue Falcon at thwee o'cwock, comin' in fast! Dwive, Wuigi! DWIVE!!"  
Baby Luigi took notice immediately, stepping on the gas and steering sharply to the left. He then went into a steady drift as he drove up the helix. The second he accelerated to maximum speed, the Captain Falcon had driven right up beside them. The Goo Goo Buggy and the Blue Falcon were neck-and-neck, swerving up the star helix. It was truly a sight to see.

As the two vehicles zoomed around the upward curve, Baby Mario tried to get a good look at Captain Falcon inside his vehicle. However, the tinted glass on the hatch made it impossible to see him. Baby Mario decided to call out to him instead. "Hi Captain Falcon!!"  
Captain Falcon didn't respond. Baby Mario tried again. "Hewwo Captain Falcon!!"  
Again, no reply from within the craft. Baby Mario was getting frustrated. He shouted out once more. "CAPTAIN FALCON!!"

Just then, to both Baby Mario and Baby Luigi's surprise, the sound of the pressurized hatch unlocking broke the air. They watched in wonder and a bit of fear as the glass hatch slowly opened and rose up. The two babies looked inside curiously, only to find something they never could've expected...

Baby Mario and Baby Luigi stared wide-eyed into the cockpit of the Blue Falcon, and were left utterly speechless by what they saw. There were two people in the vehicle, neither of which looked like what they had envisioned Captain Falcon would look like. They'd envisioned him as a buff, grown man in a blue outfit and a cool helmet, almost like a superhero. But no... these two people looked nothing like that.  
In fact...  
"Toad?" Baby Luigi asked aloud.  
As much as neither Baby Mario nor Baby Luigi was able to believe it, that's what they saw...

Within the cockpit of the Blue Falcon was Toad, who was driving, and Toadette, who was wasn't doing anything in particular, and was just staring at the babies. But something was very different about the two. Toad was in full vivid color, as he should have been, but Toadette was shadowy and transparent, like a ghost.  
It then suddenly occurred to the babies that Toadette herself was racing in some other vehicle, and Toad himself was dead. How could they be here in the Blue Falcon? What the heck was going on?!  
Toad turned his head towards the babies. He gave them a wicked smirk, stamped on the accelerator, and began to take the lead. The ghostly Toadette stared at the two babies with a grin just as ghastly as Toad's, clawing at them in a savage manner. Before any questions could be asked, the Blue Falcon pulled ahead too far for the babies to see inside. The hatch remained open, however.

Never would the babies in a million have expected to see that within the Blue Falcon's cockpit. It would take them even longer to even begin to understand why. Where was the real Captain Falcon? Why had he been replaced by Toad, who was presumably dead, and a dark mirror image of Toadette? They began to wonder if any of this was even happening... Was this real? Or was it all just some sort of dream? A nightmare...?  
Well, whatever it was, it sure felt real...

The standings remained more or less the same by the time every team had completed their lap around N64 Rainbow Road and were on the GBA Rainbow Road course. The race standings were the least of concerns for the Double Dash team, however. Over the course of this time, it had become clear to them that something very odd was going on. Each of the ten F-Zero racers on the opposing team had opened its cockpit mid-race, revealing not an F-Zero racer inside, but a pair of Mario Kart racers, mirror images of their own selves. Bowser and Peach happened to be riding alongside a large black racer when its hatch opened up, and Bowser nearly had a heart attack and fell out the back seat when he saw his son driving the vehicle, and a shadowy, faded version of himself riding in the back. This bizarre phenomenon seemed to be happening all across the racetrack, and was spread by word of mouth or something else. However, these seemingly evil clones never spoke. They would merely give nasty glares at the "true" Mario Kart team members and attempt to pass them as normal. They usually succeeded, too, because the Mario Kart team was so bewildered by them that they steered away in fear. What in Hell's name was happening?

Yoshi, who'd caught wind of the strange events early on, used his hijacked cloud to gather as much information as he could. He flew along the Rainbow Roads, observing the driver's seats and back seats of every open F-Zero racer on the track. By the time he was done, the Blue Falcon, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, and Luigi and King Boo were already past the halfway mark of the GBA Rainbow Road, indicating the entire event was half over. He needed to spread the news of his deductions, quick. He therefore flew straight for the nearest Mario Kart team he could see - Birdo and DK.  
"YOSHI!!" Yoshi called down to them as he flew in close.  
Birdo, who was driving, made some nasal sounds the indicated excitement, and DK appeared happy to see Yoshi as well. "Yoshi! You flying!"

Yoshi just nodded. "Yoshi!?"  
"Yeah," said DK in a nervous tone, "We see'd Daisy and Peachy in white F-Zoomo racer. But they not pretty like they are. They dark and scary... I scared!"

Birdo nodded in agreement while trying to concentrate on the road.  
"Yoshi!" Yoshi said with a nod. He then began to tell them about all of this deductions on this mysterious happening...

There were ten F-Zero racers, each with two Mario Kart clones in them, making a total of twenty - the original number of racers there were on the team. Yoshi noticed that they were all grouped up according to their designated pairs, which means to say Mario was with Luigi, Koopa was with Paratroopa, etc. However, that meant that all the racers who had died as well as those who were still alive were in the machines. The mirror clones of the ones who were dead were portrayed in normal color and appeared as palpable as they'd been when they were alive. The mirror clones of those still alive, however, were seen as blackish, misty dopplegangers. Stranger still was that every single one of these mirror clones bore evil looks on their faces, sometimes even physically threatened members of the real Mario Kart team when they drove in close. None of them ever said a word, however, which made their presence even more perplexing.  
Another thing Yoshi realized was that there seemed to be no odd reactions to this among the fans watching the race. Shouldn't they have expected to see the actual F-Zero racers within the F-Zero machines? Weren't they at least somewhat surprised to see devilish copies of the Double Dash members inside them? Not even Goliath Statue made any reference to this. It was like the public had seen this coming all along. This whole thing didn't make any sense at all...

"Where all real F-Zippo racers go?" DK asked Yoshi after hearing the data.  
Yoshi shrugged. All he had was deductions at that point. He hadn't even begun to understand any of it, nor could he answer any questions like that. "Yoshi!"  
"Yeah! Go tell others!" DK ordered. "We be OK!"  
Yoshi nodded. Birdo blew Yoshi a kiss from her weird mouth/nose/whatever, which Yoshi secretly grimaced at but accepted anyway. He had to spread this info as fast as he could!  
At that moment, a red-colored F-Zero machine pulled up next to the DK Jumbo, and inside were the shadowy doubles of Yoshi and Birdo. They glared at the two racers and hissed wickedly. This frightened Birdo so badly she accidentally lost control and swerved right into a jump pad on the side of the road, thereby bouncing her up and right off the track.

Yoshi sneered at the two beasts, particularly his own evil twin, before they began to pull ahead. Once they were far ahead enough, Yoshi slapped his hand over his forehead. This was going to be way harder than he thought... But he had to help somehow!

Mario and Petey were neck and neck with the freakish duo of curiously foggy Wario and even more curiously full-bodied Waluigi in a yellow F-Zero machine. By this point, the only ones that were ahead of them (The Blue Falcon, the babies, Luigi and King Boo) had already passed through the teleporter to DS Rainbow Road. They just had one last straightaway to survive, which was easier said than done. The two monsters in the kart next to them would constantly veer over and attempt to make them touch one of the many jump pads on the edge of the road in attempt to make them fly off. Petey did his best to ward them off with every item he got, but they had extremely high defenses and could block or evade basically every attack. Mario and Petey were both extremely frustrated - if they couldn't pass these two, how could they possibly pass whoever was in the Blue Falcon? How could the babies or Luigi and King Boo pass them? It seemed all but hopeless at that point...

As Mario gripped the steering wheel, trying to keep his focus on the teleporter at the finish line of GBA Rainbow Road while simultaneously trying to drive straight after being knocked around by the two freaks next to them.  
It was then, however, that he heard a voice in his head. A deep, spine-tingling, and hauntingly familiar voice...  
"_We rise as a duo, and fall as one..__._"

"What? Who said that?!" Mario naturally asked.  
"_Mario, this race is not what it seems..._"  
"Mr V?! Is that you?!" Mario asked, astonished.  
"_Just listen to me, Mario. You and your teammates can't win this battle alone. You all must work as a team, because you are up against the ultimate enemy - yourselves._"  
"Ourselves?! What the hell are you-?!"  
"_Just listen! If you wish to conquer your enemy, then you will ALL have to work together. Toad's slogan... remember it: 'Rise as a duo, fall as one...' In this case, though, it's more than just a duo - it's all of you. Your entire team. And there will be no falling. No... not anymore. So long as you can just win this race!_"  
"But how! These guys are so much... better!"  
"_Accusing yourself of being better than you, hm? Well then, I advise you reverse the perspective immediately! You must believe that YOU are better than yourself!_"  
"What?! That makes no sense!"  
"_It makes perfect sense! Now listen and listen carefully - You all are going to have to work TOGETHER to win this! I recommend you all find a way to group up, ahead of every F-Zero racer in the league. That way, there will be no way you can fail!_"  
"Wait... You expect us to be able to group ALL of us up together AHEAD of ourselves? I mean, our evil selves?"  
"_Precisely._"  
"How on earth are we supposed to do that?!"  
"_That's up you to decide. I'm giving this message to all your teammates as we speak, so it will be up to all of you to figure out how. Now, work together and conquer yourselves! Toad, Koopa, Waluigi... that is something they all failed to do in their lifetimes, but there's hope yet for you who are still alive! Please Mario; once you are able to do this, my job here will at long last be complete. Overcome the darkness within yourselves! I know you can...!_"  
"But wait! Mr V-!"

But that was all. Reality seemed to all fall right back into place after that, even though reality still didn't seem all that real. Regardless, Mario had barely any time to take what he'd just heard to heart before finding himself being thrust forward into the teleporter at the finish line...

Mario was spit out of the teleporter on DS Rainbow Road seconds later, with evil Wario and Waluigi close behind them. However, Mario's mind wasn't on that now. He was thinking about that conversation he'd just had with Mr V. That is, if it even had been Mr V... Had it? Well, of course it had been Mr V! Who the hell else could it have been?! He'd said something about if they were to conquer the evil within themselves, they would all have to work together.  
_Together_... As the word repeated in Mario's head, he began to formulate an idea. An idea so crazy and unlikely to work that it just might work...

Mario quickly tuned to Petey, who was gazing out into space. Mario guessed he'd had his own secret conversation with Mr V as well.  
"Petey!" Mario demanded. Petey came to attention immediately and grunted in plant language.  
"Did Mr V just talk to you? Did he tell you about how we all needed to work together to conquer ourselves?"  
Petey nodded, then shrugged, as though not knowing what to make of it.  
"Well, I think I've got an idea how we can do it, but we'll need Yoshi. Where's Yoshi?"  
Petey turned around in his seat and began looking in all directions for any sign of Yoshi's cloud. It didn't take long, as Petey saw him flying almost directly overhead. He informed Mario, who called and beckoned to Yoshi to come down. Yoshi complied, lowering himself down to fly right alongside the kart. He was eager to hear what Mario had to say.

"Yoshi, did Mr V talk to you, too?" Mario asked.  
"Yoshi!" Yoshi replied with a nod.  
"Alright, well I think I have a plan we can use to win this race, but we'll need to prepare first. It'll depend on how fast you can fly. Think you're up for it?"  
"Yoshi!!" he exclaimed even more enthusiastically.  
"Great! OK, so last time I checked, Wario and Paratroopa are in last place. The idea is for all of us to form a group BEHIND all the F-Zero machines. From then on, we all stick together and slowly overtake them as a team! Also, we'll have Justin supply us with only good items so it'll help us win. Catch my drift?"

Yoshi was skeptical about this plan at first. However, he remember what Mr V had told him not long before, and figured Mario's idea was worth a shot. It's not like he had any better plans to suggest, so he allowed Mario to continue.  
"Alright, here's what we'll need you to do: Fly ahead, reach the babies, and Luigi and King Boo, and tell them to brake, and just wait for Wario and Paratroopa to catch up. You let Petey and I take care of everyone behind us. After you've done that, get back to Justin as fast as you can and tell him to give us only good items!"  
"Yoshi?" Yoshi questioned.  
"Yeah, GOOD items! Golden Mushrooms for Toadette, Chain Chomps for both the babies, and triple Red Shells for Paratroopa. For everyone else, just Spiny Shells. We'll need lots and lots of Spiny Shells! Only the first person across the finish line determines the winning team, so we'll need to keep everyone that gets into 1st place at bay! So, you understand what we need you to do?!"  
"Yoshi!" Yoshi shouted. He'd never been more ready to do anything in his life.  
"Alright! Now move out!"  
Yoshi saluted firmly and immediately flew off to spread the word to the babies and to Luigi and King Boo, who were still fighting for first place.

Mario knew this plan was a huge gamble. They had already completed 3 out of 5 tracks of the Rainbow World Cup, so they had no room for error. They only had time to put this one strategy to the test, so if it failed, they would have no chance. All they could do was try it, and just hope that it worked...  
Understanding this full well, Mario slowed his kart down, allowing the mysterious mirror clones of Wario and Waluigi to pass right by. He slowed down until he was just barely inching along, until the next Double Dash duo behind them, Daisy and Toadette, came zooming along. Petey flagged them down with his leaf arm, thus causing them to slow down and pull up alongside their kart. Naturally, they questioned just what was going on. Once Mario and Petey explained the situation at hand, they almost immediately agreed the plan was worth a try, and even volunteered to drive backwards and join Wario and Paratroopa at the back of the pack, and also to spread word of the strategy to every Double Dash duo they met along the way.

By now, Mario had come to a complete stop, just on the downhill slope that led to the giant rainbow-colored loop. The two duos that were neck-and-neck with Captain Falcon (or whichever evil twins were inhabiting the Blue Falcon; Mario didn't know) were so far ahead he couldn't even see them. He hoped Yoshi would be able to reach them as soon as possible...

His hopes were heightened when he at last saw Yoshi come flying backwards along the track at full speed. Mario didn't have to stop Yoshi and ask him, for he already knew - Yoshi had managed to convince the babies and Luigi and King Boo to stop and wait for the arrival of the group. He was now headed back to the SNES Rainbow Road to give the scoop to Justin so he could start pumping out the big guns. This plan was going to be a success. There was just no way it could fail!  
...Well, no. With a plan like this, it actually was very likely it could fail if it didn't go as planned. Mario just had to pray that it would...

* * *

Luigi and King Boo sat idly by, just as Yoshi had instructed them to do as per Mario's plan. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi did so as well, on the opposite side of the road. They were to wait for Mario and the others to come riding as a huge group. And then join the group themselves. As more and more F-Zero racers passed by the two teams grew increasingly worried. It went on until they were sure all the F-Zero racers had passed by, and there was still so sign of Mario and the others.

Luigi looked at King Boo, who was growing rapidly impatient. "Ugh, where are they?! Toad and Toadette's freaky twins already made it to GC Rainbow Road, and we're just sittin' here like lumps! Who's bright idea was this?!"  
"My brother's," Luigi said defensively, "And to tell the truth, I think it's a pretty good idea."  
"On paper, maybe, but watch! We're gonna try it, and we're just gonna fall further behind. I can already tell! What's the point of even tryin'?"  
"You wanna take the wheel and drive?" Luigi offered. "You wanna drive ahead? They can probably pull it off without us. Go on, take the wheel! I know you wanna! Take it!"  
King Boo grimaced. "Don't tell me what to do!"

Baby Luigi suddenly jumped and pointed behind them. "Uncle Mawio!"  
Baby Mario turned back to see for himself, and shouted, "Daddy!"  
Luigi and King Boo eagerly whirled around themselves, and saw something that was nothing short of amazing. With Mario and Petey leading the way, them and the four other teams were driving in single file around the rainbow loop. They would reach the two waiting teams in a matter of seconds.  
"Woohoo!" Baby Luigi exclaimed, turning back around in his seat. He grabbed the steering wheel and put his foot on the gas, ready to floor it. Luigi mimicked his son's actions, also ordering King Boo to get ready.

Mario's kart at last exited the loop, and began to head up the straightaway with the other karts tailing behind him. A split-second later, he zoomed between the two idle karts, beckoning the two drivers as he did. This was their cue to join the bunch. They promptly revved up their engines and took their place in line.  
All preparations were now complete. It was time to put this plan into action...

After all seven karts went off the small jump, Mario gave his first orders. "We got three Item Boxes comin' up! Babies, left one! Paratroopa, middle one! Peach, right one!"  
The single file line split up, and everyone mapped their movements carefully to ensure that those three duos got the Item Boxes that were required of them, all the while they remained close and as a group. After watching the roulettes spin and come to a stop, everyone was ecstatic to see Paratroopa with Triple Red Shells, Bowser with a Spiny Shell, and Baby Mario holding another Chain Chomp. Looks like Justin had really agreed to provide the big guns!

"OK," Mario announced, "From here on out, if you get a Spiny Shell, throw it RIGHT away!"  
"Umm... Does that mean I should throw mine now?" Bowser questioned.  
"YES, you idiot! Throw it!"  
Bowser nodded, reared back his arm, and threw it with all his strength. It flew through the approaching the corkscrew and disappeared from sight. They knew where it was going, so they didn't worry about it.

"Paratroopa! Throw one Red Shell! Save the others!"  
Paratroopa barked and obeyed. He chucked one of his Red Shells forward, and watched it hit the F-Zero racer containing the dark Mario Bros as they went around the corkscrew, thus knocking them off upside down!

"Alright! Babies, get in front! Everyone else, get in single file behind them and grab hands with the racer in front of and behind you!"  
Everyone was shocked by this idea; have a single Chain Chomp pull all of them along like a big train? Hell, it was genius! Foolproof! Thus, in no particular order (except for the babies being in front), they all lined up, grabbed each other's hands, and hung on tight. This was gonna be a helluva ride!

"GO CHOMPY!!" Baby Mario screamed as he released his Chain Chomp. Despite the fact that the beast was pulling along the weight of seven karts instead of one, it didn't seem to go any slower than usual. It tugged them along, whirling gracefully through the corkscrew, and around the bend leading the finish line. All the while, the racers hung on to one another so tightly it was a wonder no wrists were broken. It was also a wonder they all managed to keep their hands clasped together at all, seeing how wildly fast they were moving. They were really determined to win this race!

The Chain Chomp successfully pulled the seven karts past two F-Zero racers, which housed the clones of Petey and King Boo, and Koopa and Paratroopa. That was three of them passed up already! They were also able to steer themselves just enough to have two of them snag Item Boxes just after the corkscrew. Toadette got herself a Super Mushroom, and DK earned a Spiny Shell.  
When at last, the Chain Chomp broke free of the babies' kart, the entire Double Dash team was thrust forth into the teleporter to GC Rainbow Road...

One by one, all seven tandems of eager and anxious racers spit out from the starting line of the final stretch of the race! The creme de la creme of the Double Dash tracks, GC Rainbow Road, was all that stood between them and victory! They still had a lot of ground to make up, and many more vehicles to pass up (namely, the Blue Falcon), but they all remained faithful that this plan, which had so far been more successful than they could've hoped, would ensure their win!

Despite all the skepticism of Mario's plan in the beginning, it truly seemed to be working for them. The entire team utilized Toadette's Super Mushroom in the same fashion as the babies' Chain Chomps. It wasn't quite as effective, but it certainly gave them a notable boost. DK chucked his Spiny Shell the second he appeared on GC Rainbow Road, and since then, the team had gotten innumerable amounts of them. Whenever anyone hit an Item Box, other than the babies, Paratroopa, and Toadette, it was a Spiny Shell. It worked out very nicely for them, for it ensured that the first place position would be kept at bay. Coupled with Paratroopa's endless foray of Red Shells, they were succeeding brilliantly in their efforts to overtake the F-Zero racers and evil mirror clones one at a time. By the time the Double Dash team had reached the swerving road before the Rainbow Chute, they had passed up the dark reflections of Wario and Waluigi, Peach and Daisy, Bowser and Bowser Jr, Yoshi and Birdo, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, and DK and Diddy Kong. It was hard for some of them to cope with the sights of these devilish beings as they drove by. DK in particular almost started crying over the sight of his long deceased nephew. Despite the hardships, however, they were all able to stick together as a team and drive on.  
And the moment came when all that was left to overcome were the ghostly doubles of the Blue Falcon; Toad and Toadette...

Daisy peered ahead and could make out the Blue Falcon making its way towards the Rainbow Chute. "They're not too far ahead!" She shouted. "We can still beat 'em!"  
"Alright!" Mario said, "Anybody grab these next item boxes! Doesn't matter who! Just grab 'em!"

In a funny twist of fate, all four teams who snagged the item boxes managed to get Spiny Shells. They waited for the Blue Falcon to fire to the top of the Rainbow Chute to launch them off. Not long after it did, the seven karts entered the chute as well and were rocketed upwards. Normally, it would've been fun to them, but their attention was on the Blue Falcon and the Blue Falcon only. They all looked up, and the second it reached the peak of the chute, all four of the Spiny Shell holders launched their weapons off. It was a bit of a dumb move that could've been planned out better, but who cares? The Blue Falcon flipped out right at the top, just as the seven exited the chute themselves.

Right as the dark Toad and Toadette began to accelerate after their umpteenth Spiny Shell blast that day, they were shocked to see all seven Double Dash karts fly right over their heads and drive right out in of them! Infuriated, dark Toad stomped on the gas to try and take them over, but something utterly unexpected happened - the seven karts all gracefully lined up in a horizontal pattern, completely blocking the Blue Falcon from passing them up! Ingenious!  
All the Double Dash members laughed in unspeakable joy as they flew off the final ramp. Just one more helix to go down, and the Rainbow World Cup would be theirs! They even looked back and laughed as the dark versions of Toad and Toadette tried in vain to pass their impenetrable formation. They had the race in the bag! The Rainbow World Cup was theirs, no doubt about it!

Their hopefulness was short-lived, however, when they heard the devilish sound of a Spiny Shell come swirling down the helix after them. But no! They were so close! There was no way this could be happening!

_KABLAAAMMM!!_

The Spiny Shell struck right in the middle of the team's horizontal formation, sending the karts flying every which way and ultimately breaking their defense. Dark Toad had wisely slowed down to avoid the blast, and he and Toadette smiled wickedly to themselves when the smoke finally cleared. Knowing full well that the Double Dash members wouldn't be able to recover in time, he began to drive right past all the karts as they attempted in vain to recover as fast as possible.  
The tables had turned, and with only a few meters left to drive, Toad and Toadette's evil shadows were now the victors. All hope was lost for the Double Dash team...

But suddenly, Luigi and King Boo drove right up alongside the Blue Falcon! They, too, had caught wind of the attack beforehand and slowed down in time to avoid the blast! The race was going to be close! But who was going to emerge victorious?!  
King Boo then leaned over the edge of his kart, pointed out into the sky, and shouted, "HEY LOOK! A DISTRACTION!!"  
Toad's evil double looked in that direction curiously...And Luigi and King Boo slid over and slammed the dark duo into the guardrail!  
And not one single second later... Crossed the finish line!!

The crowd went absolutely wild! Luigi and King Boo stopped their kart, climbed out, and held up their arms in triumph. "YEAH!!" Luigi screamed at the top of his lungs. "WE DID IT!! HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, WE DID IT!!"  
"Yeah, thanks to me!" King Boo bragged.  
Not long after, the rest of the Double Dash team crossed the finish line and showered the victors in enthusiastic hugs. "Thanks to US, you mean!" Mario corrected. "You know we all had to work together to make this possible!"  
"I know..." King Boo moaned, "But hey, who's gonna get the credit for actually WINNING the race for us?"  
"Duh, Luigi!" Peach chirped. "He was driving!"

While the rest of the racers bathed in the glory of victory amongst each other and all the screaming fans, Mario slowly backed off from the group. He was curious to see what had happened to the Blue Falcon. Ever since it had crashed into the wall, it hadn't moved.

Mario peeked carefully inside the cockpit...  
And saw it was empty.  
At first, he was confused. Where had they gone? And why hadn't any other F-Zero machines crossed the finish line yet? What was happening?  
But it didn't take long for him to understand...  
They had done it. They had conquered the evil within themselves, just as Mr V knew they could. They had won the race, and they had won the battle. It was all over. Their lives would certainly take a turn for the better from that moment on.

But still... Mario couldn't help but think that something felt... out of place...

"Goliath Statue of 96.7 Power Star FM here, proud to announce that the winner of this year's Rainbow World Cup is none other than the Double Dash Team!! Holy crap, I'm so stoked I'm about to fall outta my seat!! That was no doubt, THE single greatest, most history-makin' race I've ever seen!! So, enough chat for now! Bring out the Rainbow World Cup for our proud victors!! w00t!!"

At that moment, for reasons unknown, a tingle ran down Mario's spine. He felt he was being watched by something he couldn't see. The feeling began to overtake his mind. The screams and shouts of the fans became garbled and magnified several times. Mario clutched the sides of his head and shouted in agony. What the hell was happening?!

He then turned around...  
And his vision was filled by the Rainbow World Cup trophy itself, being held in the hands of a demonic figure with a red vest, white gloves, a top hat, and a face shrouded in black mist.  
And then, that hauntingly familiar voice...  
"_Congratulations..._"

That was the last Mario heard before blacking out...


	10. Epilogue

**The ****Day After...**

**--**

Darkness...

That was all he saw. The darkness seen when your eyelids close over your eyes to drift off to deep sleep...

But Mario didn't feel asleep. No, not one bit...

Almost instantaneously, however, the darkness was lifted, and Mario could see clearly. He lay on his back, starting up at the sky. He had no idea where he was, but it was strangely peaceful. Flowers sprouted up from the ground all around his body, all colored so vividly that the texture of their petals may have resembled precious gems. He could feel the ground he lay on. It was rocky and coarse, like that of a desert. The sky overhead shone a fantastic orange-red, like that seen during a sunset. Or perhaps even a sunrise. Where on Earth was he? That is, if he even WAS on Earth...  
One particular flower drooped slightly over Mario's head, almost touching his forehead. It's pedals were colored white, with red polka dots. It was a pattern that was familiar to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on where it was from. Stranger still was why this one flower seemed so important compared to the hundreds of others he was surrounded by...

Before Mario had any more time to think about it, his surroundings began to change. The flowers began to turned liquid white and melt into the ground. The orange-glazed sky overhead started to ferment into a silvery pallette and stretch out in all directions. The white flower with the red polka dots, too was changing form, into something bulbous and white, like a pillow. What the hell was going on?! Mario questioned this to himself over and over, but despite his apparent worry, he still did not get up. He simply proceeded to lay there while the world went through its stunning transformation.  
And finally, after what seemed like several days, Mario found himself no longer in this pristine desert plain growing with flora.  
Instead, he was now somewhere more familiar to him - the Double Dash infirmary. In his hospital bed, his head resting on his pillow. Wide awake. And standing over him was all of his teammates, looking extremely concerned. When his eyes at last fluttered open, they all gave cheers and hollers of joy and relief.

"Uncle Mawio!"  
"Daddy!"  
"Mario! You're awake!"  
"Thank God!"  
"We're you dead?"

Mario sat up in a daze and looked around questioningly. He looked around until his eyes settled on something in Luigi's hands..  
The Rainbow World Cup, glittering in all its rainbowish beauty.  
"Surprise!" Luigi exclaimed, holding it up for Mario to see. "We won it! We actually won it! YEAH!!"  
"Yup!" Bowser said, "And we did it even without Super Mario! Gwahaha!"  
Mario rubbed his head in confusion. "Waitwaitwait. I... I missed the Rainbow World Cup?

"We're so sorry, Mario..." Peach said sadly. It was noticed she was in a wheelchair. "I woke up the morning of the race, and the doctor said my leg was well enough for me to race in it, so long as I wore a brace. We were hoping you'd recovered enough, too, but... You never woke up. We're so sorry..."  
Mario sighed deeply to himself, still holding his head. "...How long's it been?"  
"We won the race just yesterday," King Boo said. "You've been totally out since you got lost consciousness back on the Daisy Cruiser. The doc said you'd probably be waking up this morning, though, so we all came by to say what's up."  
"W-Who did you race against?" Mario asked groggily.  
"The F-Zero team. Duh!" Daisy said matter-of-factly. "They were really tough, especially Capt Falcon, but Luigi and King Boo managed to pull ahead and win it for us!"

Mario's brain was still in overdrive. His mind was still reeling with the race that he remembered. The race against all of their dark counterparts... When had that all happened? Had it _even_ happened? Was it real?  
Or was it just a... dream?  
No, it had felt too real to be a dream.  
Unless...

"Umm..." Mario groaned, as though not sure how to put his question into words, "Have any of you seen... or heard from... Mr V recently?"

All of Mario's teammates looked around at one another, all seemingly asking the same question. Yoshi and Birdo both shook their heads. Petey grunted in futility. Paratroopa meekly barked. Following this, they all answered in their own form of 'no'.  
"We ain't heard from him since two nights ago, when we all went on that hunt for answers to the mystery, which we've totally solved, by the way," Wario stated. "We'll fill you in on the details later, if you want. But yeah, as for Mr V... I think he may really be gone. That's too bad... I was kinda startin' to appreciate that freaky bastard."  
DK lowered his head. "Yeah. Where Mr V go? I still miss him!"  
With all of these comments surrounding Mr V, Mario thought back to his dream, for it's clear now that's what it was. And he thought back to Mr V...  
"Hey everybody?" he asked, "Can I have a little time alone? I need to, ya know, recuperate a little bit..."

"OK," they all said. They all gave their farewells and began to head out of the infirmary, but not before Peach gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"So," Bowser announced as they all walked out, "Tonight, in commemoration of this day, I proudly announce the re-opening of Bowser's Bar! And as we drink the night away, we'll give a toast to our lost loved-ones for whom we won our gorgeous, sexy new trophy; Bowser Jr, Diddy, Koopa, Waluigi, and Toad! I've also introduced a new drink to my collection - a smooth drink called Canada Dry Ginger Ale!"

"Umm, that's not real ale, dude. It's not even alcohol..."

"Yeah, well you... wait, WHAT?!"

And that was the last that was heard before the door closed.

By now, the only one who'd yet to leave was Toadette. She stared at Mario curiously as he gazed out the sunlit window.  
"Whachya thinkin' about?" she asked.  
"Oh, I think you know..." he answered enigmatically.  
Toadette nodded. "Yeah, I wonder where he is too..."  
"Well, I can't blame him for leaving. He finished his job, and he knows our lives are headed in a better direction now. We don't need him anymore, I don't think..."  
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Toadette replied a little sadly.

Mario then turned around and looked at Toadette sympathetically. "Hey, listen... I'm sorry about Toad..."  
Toadette closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly. "Oh, it's OK... In the end, it's probably for the best that he did what he did. Besides, we won the Rainbow World Cup, so in a way, we can say it was for him."  
"Yeah..." Mario replied, turning back around to look out the window.  
Toadette then opened her eyes and headed towards the door. "Well, I'm the new President of Double Dash now, so I better get started working on the preparations for our race on Yoshi Circuit now..."

"Oh, OK. Sure, you go ahead and do that."

"Oh, and, umm... Mario? I was wondering if you'd like to be recruited to the position of Vice President, maybe? I mean, you know how to run a racing league better than any of us, after all..."

Mario smiled at the request. "I'd be honored! Oh, but not until I'm better..."

Toadette smiled too. "Well, right! Of course!"

Mario just nodded and chuckled to himself, then let out a sigh of contentment. "Well, you better be off to work now..."

"Right..." Toadette agreed, promptly turning around to head out of the infirmary. "See ya later, OK?"  
"OK!" Mario called back as she closed the door.

Mario continued to stare out the window at the rising sun. As he stared, he thought deeply about the events of the past week. He thought about Diddy Kong, Koopa, Bowser Jr, Waluigi, Toad... And Mr V.  
The mellow sunlight that leaked into the room seemed to signify the new beginning. The new beginning that was starting for him and his friends now...  
Mario then slowly nodded to himself, and under his breath, whispered,

"_Thank you, Mr V..._"

* * *

_Camera...  
Speed...  
Lights...  
And... Action!_

_Duh Duh Duh DUH! Duh DUH Duh!_

_"Good evening, and welcome back to Mushroom City 4 O'clock News at 9. I'm your anchor Boo T, and this is my attractive new co-anchor, Tess T. Tess T, what's our top story for tonight?"  
"Well Boo T, we have an excellent story for all of you at home! The Mario Kart: Double Dash racing team has just won the Rainbow World Cup! Do you know what this means, Boo?"  
"Umm... No, I don't! What does it mean, Tess?"  
"Oh, you big silly! It means the Mario Kart team is once again number one in terms of popularity throughout the racing world!"  
"Ah, well that's wonderful to hear! Oh, but what about those rumors that some of the members had tragically passed away during the week prior to the race?"  
"Well, President Toadette herself does not deny that some of the team members did meet untimely demises during that period. However, that sure didn't stop them from giving it their all and kicking F-Zero's butt for the gold!"  
"Ho ho! Most definitely not! Oh, and by the way, your name's funny. Cuz you know, you're a girl, but you name sounds like that part of a man-"  
"Right then, Boo! On with the next news story, please!"  
"Huh?! Oh, right! Ahem! Our next top story... President of the United States George W Bush has just gotten his wang bitten off by an angry weasel! This unfortunate event will certainly be the end of his Presidential run, don't you think?"_

"_Oh, dear! I would think so! What crazy forces do you think were at work behind THAT event?!"  
"No idea, but whoever it was, thank you! Thank you ever so much!"  
"Thank you indeed! Well, that's all the time he have for tonight, folks! For all of you at home, have a good night, and be sure to tune in tomorrow for Mushroom City 4 O'clock News at 9, bringing you the latest news that you can use to build yourself a better future!"  
"Thank you, and goodnight...!"  
__  
_

_**/\THE END/\**_


End file.
